HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Carbon Offsetting

James Wharton: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission, how much the House of Commons has paid in carbon offsetting for travel since November 2013.

John Thurso: The House of Commons entered an e-auction for carbon offsets which took place on 2 December 2013. 1,080 tonnes were offset at a cost per tonne of 38p—a total charge of £410.40 excluding VAT.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Terrorism

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many attacks by dissident republicans took place in Northern Ireland in each of the last 12 months; and how many such attacks involved (a) bombs and (b) shootings.

Theresa Villiers: The following table shows the number of national security attacks which took place in Northern Ireland in each of the last 12 months, identifying which of these attacks involved bombs and shootings. Bombs include improvised explosive devices, mortars and incendiary devices.
	
		
			  Number of attacks Number involving bombs Number involving shootings 
			 2013    
			 January 3 2 1 
			 February 0 0 0 
			 March 3 3 0 
			 April 0 0 0 
			 May 2 1 1 
			 June 0 0 0 
			 July 2 2 0 
			 August 2 2 0 
			 September 1 1 0 
			 October 9 9 0 
			 November 3 3 0 
			 December 5 2 3 
			     
			 2014    
			 January 0 0 0 
			 Total 30 25 5

Terrorism

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were (a) detained, (b) prosecuted and (c) imprisoned following conviction in each of the last 12 months in relation to dissident republican attacks in Northern Ireland.

Theresa Villiers: The following table shows the most up-to-date figures for arrests made under Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000, and for the number of those subsequently charged with any offence. These data refer to the most recent 12-month period for which figures are available. It is not possible to give figures for convictions and sentencing which is the responsibility of the devolved Department of Justice. Figures are provisional and subject to minor amendment.
	
		
			  Number of Republicans arrested under Section 41 Number of Republicans subsequently charged with any offence 
			 2013   
			 January 4 1 
			 February 10 3 
			 March 9 5 
			 April 19 4 
			 May 6 1 
			 June 14 3 
			 July 6 0 
			 August 8 2 
			 September 6 1 
			 October 19 3 
			 November 6 0 
			 December 21 6 
			    
			 2014   
			 January1 16 10 
			 1 This information is for part month only as at the date of the download (31 January 2014) not all those arrested in this month may have been included as yet. Source: Police Service of Northern Ireland

SCOTLAND

Pensions

Michael McCann: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what effect changes in pension contributions have had on the take-home pay of officials of his Department at (a) AA, (b) AO and LO2, (c) EO and LO1, (d) HEO, (e) SEO, (f) 7 and (g) SCS grades and equivalents since May 2010.

David Mundell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 4 February 2014, Official Report, columns 214-15W, by the Minister for Civil Society, my hon. Friend the Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (Mr Hurd).

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Chevening

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Leader of the House what the cost of repairs and maintenance of the Chevening Estate was in 2012-13.

Andrew Lansley: There was no cost to the public purse for repairs and maintenance of the Chevening Estate in 2012-13. Any such costs would have been met privately by the Chevening Trust, in accordance with the provisions of the Chevening Estate Act 1959.

TREASURY

Beer: Excise Duties

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the (a) per-container cost and (b) costs to industry of introducing a duty-paid tax stamp on all products liable to beer duty;
	(2)  what consideration he has given to the reintroduction of fiscal stamps on alcohol products and their permissibility under the EU Treaty provisions on the freedom of movement of goods.

Nicky Morgan: HM Revenue and Customs consulted on the introduction of beer fiscal marks in 2012. Responses to the consultation indicated (a) while costs to apply stamps to cans and bottles at the time of manufacture could be a fraction of a pence per container, for other products such as imports the costs could be as high as 10p to 15p, and (b) industry costs of at least £6 million set up costs and up to £31 million annual costs largely related to adaptations to packaging procedures.
	In 2013, HMRC, in its response to a public consultation on beer fiscal marks, confirmed they would not be introduced at this time, but would explore other, less burdensome, options to tackle alcohol fraud further. Spirits drinks for sale on the UK market are already required to bear a duty stamp.
	National identification marks, or fiscal marks, are provided for in Article 39 of Council Directive 2008/118. They are allowed to prevent any evasion, avoidance or abuse providing they do not create a disproportionate barrier to trade.

Employment

George Howarth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the additional revenue accruing in the form of (a) income tax and (b) national insurance contributions as a result of people moving off benefits and into employment in each of the last four quarters.

David Gauke: The information requested is not held centrally by any single Government Department and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Mortgages: Barrow in Furness

John Woodcock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many house sales have been completed in Barrow and Furness constituency using the Help-to-Buy scheme since that scheme's introduction.

Sajid Javid: The Government is committed to making the aspiration of home ownership a reality for as many households as possible. The Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee and equity loan schemes were set up to support households who cannot get a mortgage because of the very large deposits required by lenders following the financial crisis, but who can afford the mortgage repayments. The schemes also help those trapped in their existing homes who are unable to take the next step.
	The Government is collecting data on the mortgages covered by the Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee scheme and will report in due course. The number of sales supported by the Help to Buy: equity loan scheme by the end of December 2013 is given here by local authority:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/help-to-buy-equity-loan-scheme-monthly-statistics

Tonnage Tax

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the reduction in tax liabilities for shipping companies in the tonnage tax scheme was in each (a) calendar and (b) financial year since the scheme was introduced up to the latest estimates for (i) 2013 and (ii) 2013-14.

David Gauke: The following tables provide estimates of the difference between accruals of tax liabilities for the UK Shipping Industry through tonnage tax and what they would otherwise have been under standard UK corporation tax since 2000 for (a) calendar year and (b) financial year:
	
		
			  £ million 
			 Calendar year Reduction in tax liabilities1,4,5 
			 20003 60 
			 20013 65 
			 2.0023 65 
			 20033 80 
			 20043 90 
			 2005 95 
			 2006 90 
			 2007 135 
			 2008 270 
			 2009 95 
			 2010 95 
			 20112 120 
		
	
	
		
			  £ million 
			 Financial year Reduction in tax liabilities1,4,5 
			 2000-013 60 
			 2001-023 65 
			 2002-033 70 
			 2003-043 80 
			 2004-053 90 
			 2005-06 90 
			 2006-07 100 
			 2007-08 170 
			 2008-09 225 
			 2009-10 95 
			 2010-112 100 
		
	
	
		
			 Notes: 1 Estimates have been rounded to the nearest £5 million. 2 The latest data available are for 2011. 3 Estimates for 2000-04 should be treated as indicative only, due to insufficient data being available before 2005. 4 Estimates are based on the assumption that without the introduction of tonnage tax in 2000, the level of affected UK shipping activities would have remained equal to that of 1999. 5 This methodology has been revised and is now consistent with estimates reported to the European Commission. 6 Previous methodology was based on taking into account that it is likely that fewer large ships would be operated from the UK if generally internationally mobile ship operating companies had to pay standard UK corporation tax rather than tonnage tax. As a result these estimates may differ from estimates previously released. 
		
	
	The latest tax returns data available are for 2011; however, HMRC publishes projections of the estimated reduction in tax liabilities accrued by the UK shipping industry through the tonnage tax regime for 2012-13 and 2013-14. These are available at the following link (and are consistent with the methodology used above):
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/expenditures/table1-5.pdf

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Databases

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the contract for the AHVLA SAM IT programme was put out for public tender; how many organisations competed for this contract; who was awarded the contract; and for how long it was granted.

George Eustice: The SAM IT system was delivered under an overarching IT contract with IBM, held by DEFRA. This contract was awarded after a competitive OJEU tender process in 2005.
	The SAM application was selected after a competitive tender process; there were three suppliers shortlisted at the time, all of whom offered packages to meet AHVLA requirements.

Floods: Cumbria

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the likelihood of increased marine flooding on the Furness peninsular as a result of changing climate patterns.

Dan Rogerson: Over the last year the Environment Agency has updated its tidal flood risk mapping for the whole of the Cumbrian coastline. This included mapping the risk from a flood with a 0.5% chance of happening each year. Additional mapping was then created by looking at the impact of projected sea level rise for the year 2115 as a result of climate change. The resulting maps show the areas considered to be at risk from a 0.5% chance of flooding each year now and in 2115. These maps are available on request from the Environment Agency.

Gangmasters Licensing Authority

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many successful prosecutions have been brought by the Gangmasters Licensing Authority in each year since it was established.

George Eustice: The Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) was formally established as a non-departmental public body on 1 December 2004 and it commenced operations on 1 April 2005. The criminal offences set out in the Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004, of operating as a gangmaster without a licence (section 12) and entering into arrangements with an unlicensed gangmaster (section 13) came into force on 1 October 2006 and 1 December 2006 respectively.
	The GLA has brought 67 successful prosecutions since the criminal offences in the 2004 Act came into force. These are set out in detail in the following table:
	
		
			  Section 12 Section 13 Other Total/year 
			 2008 1 0 0 1 
			 2009 5 0 0 5 
			 2010 14 4 1 19 
			 2011 5 1 0 6 
			 2012 12 3 0 15 
			 2013 6 15 0 21 
			 Total 43 23 1 67

Gangmasters Licensing Authority

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what level of resources he has made available to the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) in each of the last three years; and what resources he plans to make available to the GLA in 2014-15.

George Eustice: The level of funding allocated by DEFRA to the GLA in the last three years is set out in the following table. The funding levels were set as part of the SR10 spending review. While the authority was asked to reduce the cost of its licensing activities, funding for enforcement was maintained in cash terms in recognition of the importance of this aspect of the GLA's work.
	Discussions continue to finalise GLA budget allocations for 2014-15.
	
		
			 £ million 
			  2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 
			 Grant in aid from DEFRA 1.634 1.418 1.376 
			 Enforcement (service level agreement with DEFRA) 2.597 2.597 2.597 
			 Northern Ireland contribution 0.1 0.1 0.1 
			     
			 Total 4.331 4.115 4.073

Noise: Pollution Control

Mike Thornton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the noise maps created for the second round of strategic noise mapping as part of the Noise Action Plan will be published.

Dan Rogerson: We expect to publish the result of the noise mapping by June this year.

Pensions

Michael McCann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what effect changes in pension contributions have had on the take-home pay of officials of his Department at (a) AA, (b) AO and LO2, (c) EO and LO1, (d) HEO, (e) SEO, (f) 7 and (g) SCS grades and equivalents since May 2010.

Dan Rogerson: I refer the hon. Gentleman to Cabinet Office's answer to PQ 185222 on 4 February 2014, Official Report, columns 214-5W, which provides information about how the take-home pay of those with different levels of salaries is affected by the pension contribution increases.

TRANSPORT

Rail Electrification: Hull

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent progress has been made on electrification of railway lines to Hull.

Robert Goodwill: Officials are working closely with First Hull Trains, promoters of the electrification scheme to Hull. The Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin), will shortly be meeting with the promoters and also with a delegation of local MPs and business leaders to hear the case for electrification in person.

Motorways

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to improve safety on motorways.

Robert Goodwill: Motorways are the safest roads in the country. The Highways Agency network carries 32.7% of all traffic, but accounts for only 6.8% of those killed or seriously injured. Hard-shoulder running on smart motorways is delivering further improvements.

High Speed 2

Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the November 2011 Major Projects Authority report on High Speed 2.

Patrick McLoughlin: I exercised the power of veto to withhold the release of the report. The full reasons for that have been reported to Parliament. The Department has already published over 200 pieces of material about HS2. And we have held 10 major consultations in three years.

Road Safety: Pedestrians

David Rutley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to improve road safety for pedestrians.

Robert Goodwill: The Government have already taken a range of steps to improve pedestrian safety, including making it easier for local authorities to implement 20 mile per hour zones and launching a new THINK! resource centre to help teachers educate children and teens on road safety.
	We will continue to work with delivery partners, including local authorities, to identify further opportunities for improving pedestrian safety.

Airports

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which 10 UK airports service the most overseas destinations; and what proportion of transfer passengers is at each such airport.

Robert Goodwill: The 10 UK airports which served the most overseas destinations with at least a weekly service (defined as over 50 direct flights in the year) in 2012 are given in the following table, together with the estimated proportion of transfer passengers at each airport.
	
		
			  Estimated proportion of transfer passengers (%) 
			 Gatwick 7 
			 Heathrow 37 
			 Stansted 4 
			 Manchester 2 
			 Luton 2 
			 Birmingham 2 
			 Bristol 1 
			 Edinburgh 2 
			 East Midlands 0 
			 Liverpool 2

Biofuels

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of total palm oil production and importation arising directly or indirectly from the use of biofuels and bioliquids for energy in the UK.

Robert Goodwill: The complete verified dataset published today "Biofuel statistics: Year 5 (2012 to 2013), report 6" suggests that in 2012-13 approximately 1.407 million litres of biodiesel derived from palm oil was reported by suppliers for end uses covered by the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO). As a proportion of the overall supply of biofuels this represents 0.1%. The data indicates that all biodiesel derived from palm oil reported was imported. The latest data are available on the Department's website at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/biofuels-statistics
	Regarding bioliquids under the Department for Energy and Climate Change's renewable energy incentive schemes only the Renewables Obligation (RO) offers an incentive for the use of bioliquids. Ofgem's latest reports do not record any palm oil as used in the RO. The latest data for 2011-12 can be obtained from the Ofgem website at:
	https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/ofgem-publications/58240/annual-sustainability-report-dataset-2011-12.xlsx

Crossrail Line

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with (a) ministerial colleagues and (b) Transport for London on Crossrail Two.

Stephen Hammond: The Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin), and other Transport Ministers regularly discuss Crossrail 2 with the Mayor of London and senior officials at Transport for London (TfL). As the project is at an early stage of development there have so far only been preliminary discussions with Ministers from other Departments. In particular, the Department has regular discussions with Her Majesty's Treasury and TfL regarding the funding and financing study announced by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the right hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey (Danny Alexander), in June 2013.

Driving Under Influence: Drugs

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that all patients taking long-term medication understand the new drug driving offence; and if he will make a statement.

Robert Goodwill: I refer my right hon. Friend to my answer of 3 February 2014, Official Report, columns 7-8W.

Heathrow Airport

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many aircraft arrivals and departures have taken place at Heathrow between 6am and 7am in each year since 1993.

Robert Goodwill: The Government does not hold the information requested. We understand however that on a typical day there are around 40 arrivals and 12 departures at Heathrow between 6am and 7am.

Heathrow Airport

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the destinations of flights and number of passengers in each flight which arrive at Heathrow in the noise quota period are.

Robert Goodwill: The Department for Transport does not hold details on the number of passengers that arrive in the night quota period (23.30 to 06.00). There are around 15 scheduled arrivals during the night quota period. These are mostly long haul flights, half of which originate from the Far East.

Heathrow Airport

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of passengers on flights scheduled to arrive at Heathrow in the night noise quota period are transfer passengers.

Robert Goodwill: The Department for Transport does not hold figures as requested. Oxford Economics issued a report in December 2011 entitled "The Economic Value of Night flights at Heathrow". It estimated that 38% of passengers using Heathrow at night (11 pm to 7 am) in the 12 month period from 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2011 were transfer passengers.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of progress on the High Speed 2 Phase One environmental statement consultation.

Robert Goodwill: The Environmental Statement consultation will conclude on 27 February. So far, we have received just under 10,000 responses to the consultation.

London Midland

Richard Harrington: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment his Department has made of the performance of London Midland and of the future of their franchise; and whether the performance of London Midland from Watford continues to be monitored daily.

Stephen Hammond: The franchise agreement between the Government and each individual train operator includes benchmarks in key performance areas. The Department monitors each train operator's overall performance against these areas and there are clear actions set out in the franchise agreement should performance drop below what is expected. We monitor the franchise performance as a whole; we do not monitor individual lines or routes on a daily basis. This regular monitoring includes monthly meetings with their senior management where performance figures are scrutinised and challenged. Where any non-compliance is discovered, then Department officials will follow the steps set out in the enforcement policy, which is available online at:
	http://assets.dft.gov.uk/publications/enforcement-policy-rail-franchise-agreements-and-closures/enforcementpolicy.pdf

M42

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many types and number of cameras are in use on the M42 motorway; what information is collected or detected by them; and whether such cameras are used to detect breaches of both the national speed limit and the managed motorway limits.

Robert Goodwill: There are four types of cameras in use on the M42 which are owned and operated by the Highways Agency.
	There are 16 fixed automatic number plate recognition cameras (ANPR) which are used to measure journey time reliability by detecting the movement of partial vehicle number plates between defined links on the motorway. These cameras are not used to detect breaches of speed limits and the number does not include ANPR cameras which are wholly operated and maintained by the police and are subject to Home Office regulations.
	There are 190 fixed monitoring cameras. These are used by the Highways Agency Regional Control Centre to ensure that the hard shoulder is clear of stationary vehicles, debris or other obstructions before opening the hard shoulder as a live running lane. These cameras are not used to detect breaches of speed limits.
	There are 35 pan, tilt and zoom cameras. These are manually operated and used by operations personnel to monitor the motorway network, identify issues and deal with incidents. These cameras are not used to detect breaches of speed limits.
	There are six Highways Agency digital enforcement cameras (HADEC) which are used to detect breaches of the speed limits set on the motorway at fixed points. These cameras in most part are only used when Active Traffic Management is in operation. However, all the HADEC sites are capable of enforcing speeds of up to the national speed limit. This is done at the discretion of the West Midlands Camera Enforcement Unit.

Night Flying

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the number of noise quota points used per winter and summer season in the night noise quota period in the last 20 years.

Robert Goodwill: The Department for Transport assessed previous noise quota points used since 2006-07 when considering proposals for future noise quota points, set out in the Stage 2 Consultation on Night Flying Restrictions at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted.
	This information can be found in Annex C of the Stage 1 Consultation on Night Flying Restrictions at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, available online at:
	www.gov.uk/government/consultations/night-flights-consultation

Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of the full greenhouse gas emissions balance of the renewable transport fuel obligations, including indirect land use change and indirectly-caused nitrous oxide emissions.

Robert Goodwill: The average lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions savings of biofuels reported under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation, including estimates accounting for indirect land use change, are shown in the following table. The percentage figures are savings relative to emissions from fossil fuels. These include the estimated direct greenhouse gas emissions from nitrous oxide associated with fertiliser use in feedstock production.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			 Year 1 2008-09 -6 
			 Year 2 2009-10 1 
			 Year 3 2010-11 33 
			 Year 4 2011-12 56 
			 Year 5 2012-13 56 
		
	
	The table has been published for consultation as part of the Department's Draft Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation Post Implementation Review, which is available on the Department's website at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/renewable-transport-fuel-obligation-a-draft-post-implementation-review

West Coast Railway Line

Richard Harrington: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what weight his Department will give to performance on the Abbey Flier train line and investment in that route as a factor in the negotiations for the next operator of the West Coast Main Line.

Stephen Hammond: The ‘Abbey Line’ is a 6.5-mile local railway line running from Watford Junction to St Albans Abbey station, in Hertfordshire. The line is currently operated by the London Midland franchise. No decisions in relation to the weighting of performance in the next franchise competition have been taken to date. The Invitation to Tender (ITT) for this franchise, planned to be published in April 2016, will be developed following public consultation and will set out the detailed specification for the franchise.

EDUCATION

Academies

George Freeman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) sponsored and (b) converter academies there were in each parliamentary constituency and local authority in England in (i) May 2010 and (ii) January 2014; and what the name of each such academy is.

Edward Timpson: As at 1 May 2010 there were 203 open academies, all of which were sponsored. As at 1 January 2014 there were 3,616 open academies, of which 997 are sponsored and 2,616 are converters.
	The Department for Education publishes a list electronically each month showing the name of every open academy, when they opened, whether they are sponsored or converter academies and the local authority and parliamentary constituency where they are located. This list can be accessed at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/leadership/typesofschools/academies/open/b00208569/open-academies

Academies: Capital Investment

George Freeman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which academies in each parliamentary constituency have received funding under the Academies Capital Maintenance Fund in 2013-14.

Edward Timpson: 937 academies have received allocations through the Academies Capital Maintenance Fund in 2013-14. A copy of the list has been placed in the House Library.
	The Education Funding Agency is currently assessing applications to the latest round of the fund. The Department has allocated £463 million for the programme in 2014-15, including £21 million allocated for the Universal Infant Free School Meals initiative announced in December 2013.

Children: Day Care

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many free nursery places providing 15 hours a week of free child care there were in each region in each of the last 20 years.

Elizabeth Truss: The Childcare Act 2006 places local authorities under a duty to secure funded places for all eligible children.
	Available information on the number of three- and four-year-olds benefiting from funded early education provision in England and by region is available in the Provision for Children under five years of age Statistical First Release. The information requested is given in the tables.
	Information by region is not available prior to 2011 and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs.
	
		
			 Number of three and four-year-old children benefiting from funded early education provision1 by region, England, January 20002to 20133 
			  2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 
			 England 866,400 950,100 1,012,000 1,100,900 1,107,500 1,103,400 1,101,100 
			         
			 North East 4— 4— 4— 4— 4— 4— 4— 
			 North West 4— 4— 4— 4— 4— 4— 4— 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 4— 4— 4— 4— 4— 4— 4— 
			 East Midlands 4— 4— 4— 4— 4— 4— 4— 
			 West Midlands 4— 4— 4— 4— 4— 4— 4— 
			 East of England 4— 4— 4— 4— 4— 4— 4— 
			 London 4— 4— 4— 4— 4— 4— 4— 
			 Inner London 4— 4— 4— 4— 4— 4— 4— 
			 Outer London 4— 4— 4— 4— 4— 4— 4— 
			 South East 4— 4— 4— 4— 4— 4— 4— 
			 South West 4— 4— 4— 4— 4— 4— 4— 
		
	
	
		
			  2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 
			 England 1,126,100 1,136,300 1,158,760 1,186,370 1,224,465 1,264,416 1,283,497 
			         
			 North East 4— 4— 4— 4— 57,650 58,710 59,110 
			 North West 4— 4— 4— 4— 163,470 167,200 169,850 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 4— 4— 4— 4— 123,690 127,410 129,180 
			 East Midlands 4— 4— 4— 4— 102,270 105,660 106,740 
			 West Midlands 4— 4— 4— 4— 130,860 135,890 137,220 
			 East of England 4— 4— 4— 4— 135,480 140,540 142,640 
			 London 4— 4— 4— 4— 200,290 207,890 212,920 
			 Inner London 4— 4— 4— 4— 75,150 76,410 78,160 
			 Outer London 4— 4— 4— 4— 125,150 131,480 134,760 
			 South East 4— 4— 4— 4— 198,400 204,870 208,250 
			 South West 4— 4— 4— 4— 112,370 116,250 117,600 
			 1 Up to 2010, the funded entitlement consisted of up to 12.5 hours per week. However, in certain circumstances some children were eligible to receive up to 15 hours per week. The number of children eligible to receive 15 hours per week increased significantly in 2010 when 25% of children were entitled to 15 hours a week, before all children became eligible for 15 hours a week from 2011. 2 Data are not available prior to 2000. The free part-time early education entitlement was introduced for four-year-olds in 1998 and the roll out for three-year-olds began in 1999 initially in disadvantaged areas. By April 2004 all three-year-olds could access a free part-time early education place. 3 Up to 2007, any child attending more than one provider may have been counted more than once. From 2008, children have only been counted once. 4 Not available. Source: Early Years Census (EYC), School Census (SC), and School Level Annual School Census (SLASC).

Classroom Assistants

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to support teaching assistants.

David Laws: It is for individual school employers to decide how they support their teaching assistant employees.
	The Department for Education's “Review of Efficiency in the School System”1 outlines a range of reforms to support and encourage effective workforce deployment. The review shows that differences in the impact of teaching assistants on school attainment can be explained by factors associated with their deployment. We have, therefore, been gathering information from outstanding schools about how they deploy their teaching assistants and we intend to share the findings with all schools to help them make decisions on how best to use these members of staff.
	1 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-efficiency -in-the-schools-system

Classroom Assistants

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to train new teaching assistants.

David Laws: It is for individual school employers to decide how they train their teaching assistant employees.

Classroom Assistants

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to recruit teaching assistants.

David Laws: The recruitment of teaching assistants is a matter for individual school employers.

Grandparents

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to protect grandparents' access rights;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the adequacy of grandparents' right of access to their grandchildren in the event of family breakdown.

Edward Timpson: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Stourbridge (Margot James) on 4 February 2014, Official Report, column 187W.

Public Appointments

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many public appointments his Department made in the last 12 months; how many such appointments are remunerated posts; what the level of such remuneration is; and how many people so appointed are (a) women and (b) men.

Elizabeth Truss: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 5 February 2014, Official Report, column 301W, by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude).

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) junior and (b) middle schools were in the lowest 268 for value-added progress for key stage one to key stage two for disadvantaged pupils in the last year for which figures are available.

David Laws: In 2013, a total of 89 junior schools and 30 middle schools were in the lowest 268 key stage 2 schools nationally for value-added progress of disadvantaged pupils from key stage 1 to key stage 2. These figures exclude key stage 2 schools with less than 11 disadvantaged pupils in their 2013 key stage 2 cohort.

Schools: Cricket

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many secondary schools offer female pupils access to cricket teaching.

Edward Timpson: The Department for Education does not collect information on how many secondary schools offer female pupils access to cricket teaching. The Government encourages schools to offer all young people the opportunity to play a wide variety of sports.
	Sport England is investing over £49 million into the development of Satellite Clubs between now and 2017. There are 135 Cricket Satellite Clubs already up and running in schools and colleges which offer young people the chance to play cricket, and are all open to girls.

Schools: Staff

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the contribution of school support staff to educational attainment at schools in England.

David Laws: The Department for Education's ‘Review of Efficiency in the School System’1 outlines a range of reforms to support and encourage effective work force deployment. The review showed that differences in the impact of teaching assistants on educational attainment can be explained by factors associated with their deployment. We have, therefore, been gathering information from outstanding schools about how they deploy their teaching assistants and we intend to share the findings with all schools to help them make decisions on how best to use these members of staff.
	1https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-efficiency -in-the-schools-system

Schools: Staff

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of support staff working in schools in (a) England, (b) the West Midlands, (c) Dudley Metropolitan Borough and (d) Dudley North constituency.

David Laws: The School Census gives the full-time equivalent number of school support staff employed in publicly funded schools in (a) England, (b) the West Midlands, (c) Dudley local authority and (d) Dudley North constituency in November 2012. It is available online here:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-workforce-in-england-november-2012

Social Networking

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent meetings he has had with representatives of (a) Facebook, (b) Ask FM and (c) other social media; and what was discussed at each such meeting.

Edward Timpson: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has not had any recent meetings with representatives from Facebook, Ask FM or other social media sites. Responsibility for internet safety policy was transferred to the Department for Culture, Media and Sports from September 2013. The Department for Education maintains a strong interest in internet safety; I co-chair the UK Council for Internet Safety (UKCCIS) together with the Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, my hon. Friend the Member for Wantage (Mr Vaizey), and the Minister for Policing, Criminal Justice and Victims, my right hon. Friend the Member for Ashford (Damian Green).

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will bring forward proposals to ratify the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on a Communications Procedure; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Timpson: The Optional Protocol provides for a mechanism whereby a child, having expended all domestic remedies, would be able to make a complaint to the UN Committee if they felt that their rights under the UN convention on the rights of a child had been violated. The UK Government believes that strong and effective laws are already in place under which individuals may seek enforceable remedies in the courts or tribunals if they feel that their rights have been breached. Nonetheless, the Government recognises that ratifying the Optional Protocol may add further protection for children in respect of their rights and will continue to keep this under review in light of emerging information on its implementation.

West Cheshire College

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department has reviewed the use of radio frequency identification technology with a real-time location system at UK West Cheshire College in Chester; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: The use of radio frequency identification technology with a real time location system is a matter for the college.

JUSTICE

Courts

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many litigants-in-person have appeared in UK courts in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013 to date; and what assessment he has made of the effect of the increased numbers of litigants-in-person on the efficient operation of the court system.

Shailesh Vara: The Ministry of Justice is responsible for the administration of the courts in England and Wales only. Family cases showing self-representing applicants and respondents are published quarterly. Self-representation is determined by the field ‘legal representation’ in the Ministry of Justice administrative database being left blank. Therefore, this is only a proxy measure and parties without a recorded representative are not necessarily self-representing litigants in person.
	Information for parties representation is available for family courts at a national level from 2011. The data are in table 2.4 of Court Statistics Quarterly, available at this link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/court-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2013
	Details of self-representation in criminal courts can only be estimated by manually checking every case file at disproportionate costs. We are working towards publishing data on self-representation in civil procedures and will publish these in our statistical publication in 2014.
	Parties with no legal representation are not a new phenomenon in our courts. Judges are used to helping persons with no legal representation, including explaining procedures and what is expected of them. We have also taken steps to help people who either want or have to represent themselves in court, including publishing a revised guide for separating parents and increased training for judges. The link to the guide is:
	http://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/HMCTS/GetForms. do?court_forms_num=cb7&court_forms_title=&court_ forms_category

Courts: Tees Valley

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many criminal cases have been heard at (a) Teesside magistrates court and (b) Teesside Crown court in each year since 2007.

Shailesh Vara: The following tables detail the number of criminal cases heard at Teesside magistrates court and Teesside Crown court over the last seven years.
	
		
			 Teesside magistrates court 
			  2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 
			 Completed proceedings 1— 1— 20,688 18,582 18,332 18,495 17,660 
			 1 Not available. 
		
	
	
		
			 Teesside Crown court 
			  2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 
			 Trial disposals 1,664 2,025 2,183 2,098 1,720 1,500 1,461 
			 Committal for sentence disposals 611 564 524 465 443 501 587 
			 Appeals from magistrates courts disposals 269 244 211 209 178 153 133 
		
	
	HM Courts and Tribunals Service no longer holds data for magistrates court cases heard in 2007 and 2008.

Employment and Support Allowance: Appeals

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what the average length of waiting time for employment and support allowance tribunals is;
	(2)  what the cost of employment and support allowance tribunals has been in each year for which figures are available;
	(3)  how many and what proportion of employment and support allowance appeals in each region and district have been successful at tribunals in the last year;
	(4)  how many people are employed in hearing employment and support allowance tribunals.

Shailesh Vara: Since its peak, Government spending on incapacity benefits has fallen by £800 million in real terms. The First-tier Tribunal—Social Security and Child Support (SSCS), administered by HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), hears appeals against Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) decisions on a range of benefits, including employment and support allowance (ESA).
	In the period 1 April 2013 to 30 September 2013 (the latest period for which data has been published) the average waiting time from receipt of an ESA appeal at the Tribunal to disposal was 18.9 weeks.
	The following table shows the estimated total cost to HMCTS of employment and support allowance (ESA) appeals in the years 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13. For each period the estimated costs were calculated by multiplying the average cost of an individual SSCS tribunal case in that year by the number of ESA appeals disposed of during the year.
	
		
			 Estimated cost of employment and support allowance appeals 
			  Number of all ESA appeals disposed of1 Estimated total cost (£ million) 
			 2008-092 125 0.03 
			 2009-10 70,535 21 
			 2010-11 176,567 42 
			 2011-12 204,321 47 
			 2012-13 268,137 66 
			 1 Data include both cases cleared at hearing and those cleared without the need of a tribunal hearing, through being struck out, withdrawn or superseded. 2 Employment and support allowance was introduced in October 2008 and this is reflected in the volume (appeals would not have started to have come through to the tribunal until some weeks after October 2008) and cost provided for the period 2008-09. 
		
	
	The following table shows the number of ESA appeals disposed of at a tribunal hearing in each Government office region, and the number and proportion of appeals in which the decision was in favour of the appellant. The information covers April 2012 to March 2013 and 1 April to 30 September 2013, the latest period for which data has been published.
	
		
			 Social security and child support—Great Britain, employment support allowance 
			  April 2012 to March 2013 April to September 2013 
			 Region Disposed of at tribunal hearing1 Decision in favour of the appellant Percentage Decision in favour Disposed of at tribunal hearing1 Decision in favour of the appellant Percentage Decision in favour 
			 Birmingham (East and West Midlands and East of England Regions) and (London Region2) 58,785 22,980 39 42,379 17,064 40 
			 Cardiff (Wales) and South West Region 36,031 17,398 48 27,767 14,291 51 
			 Glasgow (Scotland) 32,968 15,031 46 23,291 9,976 43 
			 Leeds (Yorkshire and the Humber Region) 16,818 6,426 38 12,449 4,608 37 
			 Newcastle (North East Region) 19,215 8,580 45 12,485 5,294 42 
			 Liverpool (North West Region) 37,330 13,096 35 28,357 9,942 35 
			 Sutton (South East and London Regions2) 23,228 12,032 52 16,872 8,641 51 
			 1 Disposed of at tribunal hearing includes oral, paper and domiciliary hearing. The total cleared at hearing may include some withdrawals. Thus, it is not the total of decisions in favour and those upheld. 2 Covers whole of Government Office Region London except Hillingdon, Harrow, Barnet, Enfield, Haringey, Islington, Tower Hamlets, Newham, Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Redbridge, Waltham Forest, Hackney which are covered by Birmingham. Note: The above data are taken from management information. 
		
	
	The SSCS Tribunal hears appeals on a range of benefits of which ESA is one and SSCS Tribunal staff will be involved with processing the range of appeals heard by the Tribunal.
	It is therefore not possible to supply the numbers of staff employed to deal with appeals against decisions on entitlement to ESA specifically.

Fixed Penalties

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many penalty notice orders were (a) issued, (b) not paid within a 21-day payment window and (c) never paid in (i) England and Wales and (ii) each police authority area in each year from 2010 to 2013; and how many outstanding fines there were of what monetary value on 31 December (A) 2010, (B) 2011, (C) 2012 and (D) 2013;
	(2)  how many unpaid penalty notice orders were cancelled in (a) England and Wales and (b) each police authority area in each year from 2010 to 2013; and what the value was of those cancelled orders in each such year.

Shailesh Vara: Data on the numbers of PNDs and fixed penalty notices (FPNs) issued by each police authority is published at:
	FPNs
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tables-for-police-powers-and-procedures-in-england-and-wales-201112
	PNDs
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly-march-2013
	Penalty Notices for Disorder data for calendar year 2013 are planned for publication in May 2014.
	When PNDs and FPNs are not paid within the prescribed time limits they are registered as fines for enforcement by Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS). Once PNDs and FPNs are registered as fines it is not possible to identify these separately from other court imposed fines so it is not known how many or what monetary value remain outstanding at certain years or how many or what value were cancelled. Fine registered PNDs and FPNs are enforced in the same way as all other court imposed financial impositions.
	HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) takes the issue of financial penalty enforcement very seriously and is working to ensure that clamping down on defaulters is a continued priority nationwide. HMCTS actively pursues all outstanding impositions until certain they cannot be collected. Collection reached an all time high at the end of 2012-13 and collection has continued to rise in this financial year.
	HMCTS are actively seeking an external provider for the future delivery of compliance and enforcement services. This will bring the necessary investment and innovation to significantly improve the collection of criminal financial penalties and reduce the cost of the service to the taxpayer.

Freedom of Information

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which companies wholly owned by more than one public authority are covered by the Freedom of Information Act 2000 since the scope of the Act was extended in 2013.

Simon Hughes: We estimate that the extension of the Freedom of Information Act has increased the scope of the Act by more than 100 companies wholly owned by the public sector. Whether a particular company is within the scope of the Act depends on its ownership, which can change over time. Therefore we do not at present hold a comprehensive list of all of the companies who have been brought within scope.

Human Trafficking: Victim Support Schemes

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the nationality and gender was of each suspected victim of human trafficking referred to the Trafficking Victim Support Scheme operated by the Salvation Army in July 2013; in which (a) region, (b) country, (c) metropolitan district, (d) district council area, (e) city and (f) parliamentary constituency each of the suspected victims was found; which agency referred each person to the scheme; and in which town the shelter to which they were placed for the statutory period was.

Damian Green: In July 2013 there were 76 referrals to the Government-funded support service for adult victims of human trafficking in England and Wales administered by the Salvation Army. In the interests of victim safety only the region in which the victim was encountered is provided, and not the county, metropolitan district, district council area, city or parliamentary constituency, or information on where victims are accommodated in the service. Details on referrals are provided in the table.
	
		
			 Nationality Gender Region Referral agency 
			 Albanian Female South East Health services 
			 Albanian Female South East Health services 
			 Albanian Female South East Health services 
			 Albanian Female South East Home Office 
			 Albanian Female South East Home Office 
			 Albanian Female South East Self-referral 
			 Albanian Female South East Self-referral 
			 Albanian Female South East Legal representative 
			 Albanian Female South East Legal representative 
			 Albanian Female Yorkshire Home Office 
		
	
	
		
			 Albanian Female Wales Home Office 
			 Albanian Female West Midlands Home Office 
			 Chinese Male South East NGO 
			 Czech Female West Midlands Police 
			 Czech Male East Midlands Police 
			 Czech Male East Midlands Police 
			 Czech Male East Midlands Police 
			 Czech Male East Midlands Police 
			 Czech Male East Midlands Police 
			 Eritrean Female North West NGO 
			 Ethiopian Female South Home Office 
			 Ghanaian Female South East Self-referral 
			 Ghanaian Female Not Known Other 
			 Guinean Male North East Home Office 
			 Guinean Male North East Home Office 
			 Hungarian Female Yorkshire Police 
			 Hungarian Male West Midlands Police 
			 Hungarian Male West Midlands Police 
			 Hungarian Male Yorkshire NGO 
			 Hungarian Male Yorkshire NGO 
			 Indian Female South East Home Office 
			 Indonesian Male South East Home Office 
			 Ivorian Female Yorkshire Home Office 
			 Lithuanian Female South East Police 
			 Lithuanian Female South East Police 
			 Lithuanian Male South East Police 
			 Nigerian Female South East Legal representative 
			 Nigerian Female South East Self-referral 
			 Nigerian Female South East Local authority 
			 Nigerian Female Yorkshire Legal representative 
			 Nigerian Female Yorkshire Home Office 
			 Nigerian Female East Midlands Local authority 
			 Nigerian Female South Other 
			 Nigerian Male South East Legal representative 
			 Pakistani Female South East Home Office 
			 Pakistani Female North West Home Office 
			 Pakistani Male Wales Home Office 
			 Papua New Guinean Female Wales NGO 
			 Polish Male Yorkshire NGO 
			 Romanian Female South East Police 
			 Romanian Female South East Police 
			 Romanian Female South East Police 
			 Romanian Female South East UKHTC 
			 Romanian Female West Midlands Health services 
			 Romanian Female West Midlands Police 
			 Romanian Male South East Police 
			 Sierra Leonese Male North West Home Office 
			 Slovakian Female South East NGO 
			 Slovakian Male East Midlands Police 
			 Slovakian Male East Midlands Police 
			 Slovakian Male East Midlands Police 
			 Slovakian Male East Midlands Police 
			 Slovakian Male East Midlands Police 
			 Slovakian Male South East NGO 
			 Sri Lankan Male North West Home Office 
			 Ugandan Female Wales Home Office 
			 Ugandan Female Wales Legal representative 
		
	
	
		
			 Ugandan Female South East Self-referral 
			 Ugandan Female South East NGO 
			 Vietnamese Female East Legal representative 
			 Vietnamese Female South East Health services 
			 Vietnamese Male East Home Office 
			 Vietnamese Male East Legal representative 
			 Vietnamese Male East Midlands Home Office 
			 Vietnamese Male Yorkshire Legal representative 
			 Not known Female South East Self-referral

Legal Aid Scheme

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful applications were made at magistrates courts for legal aid in the last 12 months.

Shailesh Vara: In the 12 months from January to December 2013 there were 374,466 successful and 24,835 unsuccessful applications made at magistrates courts for legal aid.

Probation

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what the (a) inherent, (b) target and (c) residual scores are from the risk arising from the Transforming Rehabilitation Probation programme that information and communication technology systems are unable to reflect the new processes;
	(2)  what the (a) inherent, (b) target and (c) residual scores are from the risk arising from the Transforming Rehabilitation Probation programme that the design and architecture of the new structure is problematic;
	(3)  what the (a) inherent, (b) target and (c) residual scores are from the risk arising from the Transforming Rehabilitation Probation programme that there is too much focus on the National Probation Service in relation to planning the expense of the community rehabilitation companies;
	(4)  what the (a) inherent, (b) target and (c) residual scores are from the risk arising from the Transforming Rehabilitation Probation programme of failure to have a robust operational design in place which has been fully tested;
	(5)  what the (a) inherent, (b) target and (c) residual scores are from the risk arising from the Transforming Rehabilitation Probation programme of poor exit management of Trusts and a failure on the part of the Ministry of Justice to recognise the lead in time to effect a sustainable transition; and what regulations have been put in place.

Jeremy Wright: The Rehabilitation Programme team actively monitors risks and develops and implements mitigating activities. Our rigorous planning approach means we are applying appropriate effort and resource to setting up both the National Probation Service (NPS) and the Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) as required. The Transforming Rehabilitation programme remains on track to deliver these essential reforms.
	The primary national ICT applications, Oasys and National Delius, which were introduced across all Trusts in 2013, already enable a consistent national approach to the use and recording of offender risk assessment and case management across England and Wales. Community Rehabilitation companies (CRC) will continue to use existing local ICT applications pending those applications development or rationalisation by the new providers.
	We have developed and designed the new system over several months, through consultation and engagement and will continue to work closely with Trusts to test key aspects of the new system in the run up to implementation. We are taking a phased approach to implementation and have plans in place to roll out further business readiness tests at key stages of implementation so that we can ensure we are managing the transition to the new system in a safe and measured way which maintains public protection.
	Trusts are being wound down on 31 May, following staged stand up of CRCs and the NPS. This means that transition to the new arrangements will happen in a sensible way which ensures public safety at every stage.

Procurement

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of expenditure on his Department's procurement contracts was placed with small and medium-sized enterprises based in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales, (d) Northern Ireland, (e) the North East, (f) the North West, (g) Yorkshire and the Humber, (h) the East Midlands, (i) the West Midlands, (j) the East of England, (k) London, (l) the South East and (m) the South West in the last three years for which figures are available.

Simon Hughes: The Ministry of Justice's direct and indirect spend with SMEs from 2009-10 to 20012-13 has been reported on GOV.UK:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/buying-and-managing-government-goods-and-services-more-efficiently-and-effectively/supporting-pages/making-sure-government-gets-full-value-from-small-and-medium-sized-enterprises
	We do not hold this information on a regional basis.
	In the 2012-13 financial year, £1751.05 million (34.81%) of procurement spend was spent with SMEs, which significantly exceeds the Government's aspiration of 25%.

Sexual Offences: Preston

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people in Preston who were convicted of (a) sexual assault, (b) rape, (c) sexual activity with a child under 16, (d) sexual activity with a child under 13 and (e) sexual assault of a female in 2012 received a custodial sentence of less than (i) six months and (ii) four years.

Jeremy Wright: Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the courts, within the maximum penalty set by Parliament for the offence. Since 2010, those who break the law are now more likely to go to prison, and they go to prison for longer. This Government is creating a tough justice system with severe penalties available for serious offenders. We have already introduced automatic life sentences for a second serious sexual or violent offence, and we have announced plans to end automatic early release for child rapists, terrorists and all dangerous offenders.
	The number of persons found guilty, sentenced and sentenced to immediate custody at all courts in Preston, for selected offences, with sentence length, in 2012, can be viewed in the following table. In some cases, those convicted of sexual activity with a child will be children themselves and the court will take account of this when sentencing.
	
		
			 Persons1 found guilty, sentenced2 and sentenced to immediate custody at all courts in Preston, for selected offences, with sentence length3, 2012 
			      Of which: sentence length: 
			 Offence Total found guilty Total sentenced Total sentenced to immediate custody Less than six months Six months Six months to less than four years Four years Over four years 
			 Sexual assault on a male4 12 12 9 — 1 7 1 — 
			 Sexual assault on a female4 43 46 26 — — 15 2 9 
			 Rape5 23 23 23 — — 2 1 20 
			 Sexual activity involving a child under 136 11 11 7 — — 5 — 2 
			 Sexual activity involving a child under 166 35 35 19 — — 12 2 5 
			 Total 124 127 84 — 1 41 6 36 
			 1 Excludes "other defendants" i.e. companies, public bodies, etc. 2 The number of offenders sentenced can differ from those found guilty as it may be the case that a defendant found guilty in a particular year, and committed for sentence at the Crown Court, may be sentenced in the following year. 3 The sentence length band 'over four years' includes indeterminate sentences (life or Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences). 4 Includes offences of assault of an adult or child. 5 Includes offences of rape and attempted rape of an adult or child. 6 Sexual activity excludes more serious offences of rape and sexual assault. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Females: Cricket

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities whether it is her policy to support cricket teaching at secondary school level for girls and young women.

Helen Grant: School sport is a matter for the Department for Education. However, I am keen for girls in secondary schools to be offered a wide variety of sport, including cricket. There are 135 cricket satellite clubs in England, offering young people the chance to play cricket nine of which are exclusively for girls. Sport England has also invested £7.5 million in the Cricket Foundation's 'Chance to Shine' programme which helps to keep young people playing cricket as they move from primary to secondary school. 191,500 girls were involved in Chance to Shine in 2013 and 27,000 of these were in the 11 to 16 age group.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Criminal Investigation

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which organisation her Department and its subsidiary bodies use to tackle internal instances of crime, including corruption and fraud; and whether she has designated this organisation or any individual within it to grant authorisation for carrying out directed surveillance under section 28 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.

Helen Grant: This Department contracts with the Department for Communities and Local Government to provide it with Internal Audit Services, including the investigation of reported frauds. No organisation or individual has been granted authorisation to carry out directed surveillance under section 28 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act.

Exercise

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the legacy of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games on encouraging people to be physically active.

Helen Grant: Our ambition is to be the first host nation to increase the number of people getting active through playing sport off the back of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. 15.5 million people aged 16 and over are playing sport at least once a week, which is 1.6 million more than when we won the bid in 2005.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department is taking to protect waterway assets, including listed buildings and conservation areas, from the effects of High Speed 2. [R]

Edward Vaizey: Both the Department and its statutory adviser, English Heritage, are represented on the HS2 National Environment Forum. In addition, English Heritage is working with HS2 Ltd, local authorities and others to ensure that the impacts of the proposed line, including impacts on waterway heritage assets, have been assessed properly and that appropriate mitigation of those impacts has been identified. English Heritage has also advised on the Heritage Memorandum for Phase One of HS2, through which heritage assets, including waterway assets, will be protected during the construction stage where they are vulnerable.

HMS Victory

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations her Department has received from Lord Lingfield or his representatives on the future of HMS Victory.

Edward Vaizey: The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has received a number of representations regarding HMS Victory. Proposals from the Maritime Heritage Foundation are currently under consideration. The final decision is a matter for the Secretary of State for Defence.

HMS Victory

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what meetings Ministers and officials of her Department have had with representatives of Lord Lingfield regarding the future of HMS Victory.

Edward Vaizey: The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Maria Miller), has not met with Lord Lingfield's representatives nor have any officials from this Department. However I recently chaired a meeting with Lord Astor, the Advisory Group, Lord Lingfield and his representative to discuss the wreck of HMS Victory 1744.

Lilleshall National Sports and Conferencing Centre

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the future sporting and cultural expansion of Lilleshall National Sports Centre; and if she will make a statement.

Helen Grant: Sport England has invested £11 million into Lilleshall National Sports Centre including £6.9 million for major refurbishment and improvement works which were completed in 2013. A five year sports development strategy has been produced to increase and maintain the number of people playing sport at Lilleshall as well as developing talent and coaches. Sport England has also worked with English Heritage to develop a 21 year conservation plan for the Grade II buildings and grounds.

National Media Museum

David Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress her Department has made in securing the future of the National Media Museum in Bradford.

Edward Vaizey: Following the outcome of the spending review in July 2013, the reduction in resource and capital grants for the national museums sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport was limited to 5% in 2015-16. In addition, a package of operational and financial freedoms has been granted to national museums and galleries which will help them act more strategically, increase revenues from their commercial operations and attract more philanthropic donations. In the light of this settlement, the Science Museum Group confirmed that all of its museums will remain open.
	I held a round table meeting on 16 September 2013 at the National Media Museum in Bradford, to discuss plans for securing a sustainable future for that museum. In attendance were local MPs, and representatives of the Science Museum Group, Bradford City Council, the University of Bradford, Bradford College, Bradford Academy, and the Chamber of Commerce.

Sports: Public Participation

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport in what sports there has been an increase in (a) adult and (b) child participation since the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Helen Grant: The information requested is as follows:
	(a) Based on figures from the Taking Part child release 2012-13, sports in which participation among children has increased since 2011-12 are:
	Five to 10 years: swimming;
	11 to 15 years: dodgeball, basketball, cricket, table tennis, badminton, athletics, rounder, walking or hiking, swimming, roller skating/blading or skate boarding, tennis, netball.
	Full participation data for young people aged five to 15 can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sat--2
	(b) Based on figures from the Active People survey release 12 December 2013, sports in which participation among adults has increased since 2011-12 are swimming, cycling, snowsport, athletics, weightlifting, boxing, bowls, basketball, sailing, volleyball, shooting, table tennis, archery, angling and canoeing.
	Full participation data for people age 16+ years can be found at:
	http://www.sportengland.org/research/who-plays-sport/by-sport/who-plays-sport/

World War I

Lee Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to make available online information from Government sources for young people researching the First World War.

Helen Grant: Government is keen to encourage the widest possible interest and engagement in the first world war centenary, including that of young people. There is lots of material available online from the National Archives to the BBC In addition, the dedicated centenary pages on GOV.UK website provide links to key partners—such as Imperial War Museums, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the Institute of Education—who are delivering lots of WW1 educational resources for young people.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Beer: Competition

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will bring forward proposals to increase access for local brewers to the number of pubs owned by big pubcos.

Jennifer Willott: The Government values the brewing industry, and recognises the important contribution that local brewers and pubs make to the fabric of local communities, and to jobs and growth in the wider economy. Government measures to support brewers include the abolition of the beer duty escalator and the capping of business rate increases to 2% in 2014-15.
	The access of local brewers to pubs depends on the outcome of commercial negotiations between brewers and pub landlords. Where landlords are subject to purchasing obligations access is a matter of negotiation between pub owning companies and brewers.
	The Government has consulted on proposals for a statutory Code of Practice to help tied pub landlords by addressing the imbalance in the relationship between pub companies and their tenants. A response to the consultation will be published soon.

Gangmasters Licensing Authority

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent representations he has received on extending the remit of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority to cover additional sectors of the economy.

Jennifer Willott: In January 2013 the Government published a consultation on reforming the regulatory framework for employment agencies and employment businesses. A small number of responses to the consultation expressed the view that the remit of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority should be extended to cover additional sectors of the economy.
	Individual responses to the consultation have been published and can be accessed via the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-reforming-the-regulatory-framework-for-employment-agencies-and-employment-businesses

Pensions

Michael McCann: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what effect changes in pension contributions have had on the take-home pay of officials of his Department at (a) AA, (b) AO and LO2, (c) EO and LO1, (d) HEO, (e) SEO, (f) 7 and (g) SCS grades and equivalents since May 2010.

Jennifer Willott: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 4 February 2014, Official Report, columns 214-15W, by the Minister of State, Cabinet Office, the hon. Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (Mr Hurd).

Royal Mail

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will publish a list of the illiquid assets that became available from the transfer of the Royal Mail pension fund in March 2012.

Michael Fallon: The illiquid assets transferred included around £3 billion of property, private equity and high yield bonds. Information on the specific assets transferred is not publicly available as this is commercially sensitive and publication could compromise the value achieved in future disposals.

Royal Mail

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the illiquid assets acquired by the Government following the transfer of the Royal Mail pension fund in March 2012 have been; to which buyers; and at what price to date.

Michael Fallon: Due to commercial sensitivity it would not be appropriate to provide a breakdown of sales.

Student Opportunity Fund

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which institutions in each region have drawn from the Student Opportunity Fund since 2009-10.

David Willetts: The Student Opportunity Fund was introduced in academic year 2013/14 and is part of the overall teaching grant allocated to higher education institutions by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).
	Information on funding allocations by institution is available for England at HEFCE's website:
	www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/year/2013/201305/#d.en.78962
	The same information is available from HEFCE for predecessor allocations. Information is not published by region.

Student Opportunity Fund

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what funding was allocated to the Student Opportunity Fund in each year for which figures are available.

David Willetts: The Student Opportunity Fund was introduced in academic year 2013/14 and is part of the overall teaching grant allocated to higher education institutions by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). Its value for 2013/14 was £332 million.
	The value of its predecessor allocations is available at HEFCE's website:
	www.hefce.ac.uk

HOME DEPARTMENT

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will take steps to ensure the preservation of religious liberty within the guidance on her planned Injunction to Prevent Nuisance or Annoyance orders.

Norman Baker: The statutory guidance to the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill will make clear that, in deciding whether to grant an injunction under clause 1, a court would be obliged to exercise its discretion in a way that is compatible with an individual's rights under the European convention on human rights, including their right to manifest their religious beliefs under article 9 of the convention.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations she has had from local and community bodies on her plans to replace anti-social behaviour orders with Injunction to Prevent Nuisance or Annoyance orders.

Norman Baker: The 2011 consultation sought views on the proposed replacements for a number of powers available to deal with antisocial behaviour. A total of 340 local and community bodies responded to the consultation. Overall, 42% thought the civil injunction would be more effective in tackling antisocial behaviour, with only 13% thinking it would be less effective. We are continuing to work with the professionals who will use the new powers, so that they can shape the proposals so that we get the reforms right first time.

Asylum

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will list by (a) local authority area and (b) numbers presented to each local authority details of received asylum seekers placed by direction of her Department or its contracted partners for the most recent period for which figures are available.

Mark Harper: The following table shows the numbers of asylum seekers in receipt of subsistence and accommodated in Home Office-funded accommodation under section 95 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1999 by local authority at the end of quarter 3 2013.
	All figures have been taken from volume 2 of the asylum data tables in ‘Immigration Statistics July to September 2013’:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tables-for-immigration-statistics-july-to-september-2013

Asylum: Children

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many former unaccompanied asylum-seeking children who were in the UK under discretionary leave had (i) applications heard, (ii) applications accepted and (iii) applications refused to extend their leave in each of the last five years for which records are available.

Mark Harper: holding answer 3 February 2014
	The information requested is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Decision year Decision made Granted Further Leave Refused 
			 2009 63 0 61 
			 2010 535 39 433 
			 2011 757 148 551 
			 2012 353 79 245 
		
	
	
		
			 20131 222 20 169 
			 1 2013 data up to 30 September 2013.

Asylum: Syria

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions she has had with those working to support and resettle vulnerable and traumatised refugees on the psychological effects on (a) adult and (b) child refugees of being offered (i) temporary and (ii) permanent resettlement pursuant to her statement of 29 January 2014, Official Report, columns 863-77, on Syrian refugees, if she will make it her policy to offer Syrian refugees under that scheme the option of permanent residence in the UK: and if she will make a statement.

Mark Harper: The detail of the Governments' new Vulnerable Person Relocation scheme (VPR) for Syria is to be finalised but we are actively discussing a range of options with relevant partners in the field, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, local authorities who have experience of running similar schemes, and non-governmental organisations who work with asylum seekers and refugees.

Asylum: Syria

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what financial and practical support she will provide for Syrian refugees permitted to enter the UK; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what method of transport will be used to move those Syrian refugees granted permission to enter the UK; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  what criteria will be used to determine which Syrian refugees are of sufficiently high need to receive permission to enter the UK; and if she will make a statement;
	(4)  how the Government will monitor the well-being of those Syrian refugees that enter the UK.

Mark Harper: holding answer 4 February 2014
	Under the new vulnerable person relocation (VRP) scheme, the level of financial and practical support offered will depend on the needs of those we are resettling and will be decided on a case-by-case basis. The precise details have yet to be confirmed but we expect to provide a package in line with that provided through the Gateway resettlement programme. This includes accommodation, access to health and education services and income support.
	Those on the scheme will also be provided with help with integration and have access to the labour market.

Borders: Personal Records

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many known persons of interest have been processed by the Semaphore system in each of the last three years.

Mark Harper: holding answer 3 February 2014
	In the interest of border and national security it is Home Office policy neither to discuss the specific information held on Home Office systems, nor details relating to the volumes of data.

Cannabis: South West

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cannabis farms were identified in each local authority area in Devon and Cornwall in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Norman Baker: The Home Office does not hold data on the identification of cannabis farms within each local authority area. However, 2012 National Policing Commercial Cannabis Cultivation Problem Profile shows that across Devon and Cornwall, the numbers of cannabis farms identified were as follows:
	14 in 2008/9
	11 in 2009/10
	191 in 2010/11
	The rise shown for 2010/11 is consistent with other intelligence which suggests that a significant proportion of cannabis consumed in the UK is now grown domestically rather than imported. The Government works closely with the police to support the policing of illegal cannabis production. The police response to tackle commercial cannabis cultivation includes proactive operations to identify and close down these factories and disrupt the organised crime groups behind them. The police also work to improve their knowledge and understanding of the trade through activity-led intelligence gathering.

Children in Care: Abuse

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make an assessment of the extent to which recommendation 14 in the Fourth Report of the Home Affairs Committee of Session 2001-02, The Conduct of Investigations into Past Cases of Abuse in Children's Homes, HC 836-I, that the use of similar allegations as evidence to corroborate a child sex abuse charge be tightened to include only allegations that bear a striking similarity, has been implemented.

Damian Green: The Committee's recommendation was rejected in the previous Government's response to the report in 2003. The Government's response is available at:
	http://www.archive2.official-documents.co.uk/document/cm57/5799/5799.pdf
	Under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 admissibility of bad character evidence depends on its relevance to the issues in the case, rather than on a particular degree of similarity. This enables juries and magistrates to hear the widest range of relevant evidence. There are safeguards; in particular it may be excluded due to its adverse effect on the fairness of the trial.

Crime: Retail Trade

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment her Department has made of the effect of retail crime on businesses in West Mercia.

Norman Baker: holding answer 3 February 2014
	The Home Office has not undertaken an assessment of the effect of retail crime on businesses in West Mercia specifically. However, the coalition Government recognises the cost and disruption it causes to businesses across the country, as well as the damage it causes to communities and consumers. We are working to improve the response to retail crime through the National Retail Crime Steering Group, the national partnership that brings together business and trade associations, government and law enforcement.

Crime: Sussex

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of trends in the level of crime in (a) Mid Sussex constituency and (b) West Sussex in each of the last five years.

Norman Baker: holding answer 5 February 2014
	The Home Office holds data on crime for Police Force Areas and Community Safety Partnerships, but not for parliamentary constituencies or counties. The overall number of offences (excluding fraud) recorded in the Sussex Police Force Area and the Mid Sussex Community Safety Partnership area in each of the last five years are shown in the table provided.
	The Office for National Statistics publishes quarterly statistics on crime. As part of this, a set of open data tables are published, showing crime at Police Force Area and Community Safety Partnership level. These contain the data requested, and can be found using this link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tables
	
		
			 Total offences in Mid Sussex CSP and Sussex PFA in each of the last five years to September 
			  Year to September: 
			  2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 
			 Mid Sussex CSP 5,950 4,786 4,929 5,037 5,034 
			 Sussex PFA 104,720 95,016 94,471 91,301 85,302 
			 Note: The recording of fraud offences has moved from police forces to Action Fraud in recent years. The number of crimes shown exclude fraud offences to allow for consistent comparisons over time.

Criminal Investigation: International Cooperation

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the UK Central Authority has received requests for mutual legal assistance from (a) Iran, (b) Syria and (c) Libya during the last three years.

Mark Harper: The UK Central Authority has received requests for mutual legal assistance (MLA) from Iran, Syria and Libya in the last three years.

Electronic Commerce: Fraud

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many successful prosecutions by the National Fraud and Intelligence Office involving fraudulent activity on eBay there have been since 2010.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 4 February 2014
	The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau does not itself prosecute offences, this is the responsibility of individual police forces and the Crown Prosecution Service.

Harmondsworth Prison

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether Geo Group UK Ltd, contractors for HM Prison Harmondsworth, will be allowed to bid in the re-tendering process following HM Inspectorate of Prisons' report.

Mark Harper: holding answer 3 February 2014
	The Home Office has been undertaking a tendering procedure for the future service management of Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre. This tendering exercise is ongoing and I am therefore unable to respond at this time. I can confirm that the Home Office applies all relevant legislation and public policy with regards to such tendering exercises and we expect to make a formal announcement in the near future. The Home Office will consider past performance of all suppliers as part of tendering exercises for immigration removal centres.

Harmondsworth Prison

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  whether she plans to change the terms of the contract for HM Prison Harmondsworth in light of the HM Inspectorate of Prisons' Report;
	(2)  what plans she has to scrutinise the performance of Geo Group UK Ltd following the HM Inspectorate of Prisons' Report.

Mark Harper: holding answer 3 February 2014
	All immigration removal centres operated by the private sector, including Harmondsworth, have their contracts managed by a central commercial team. The Home Office has staff based in each immigration removal centre to monitor contract delivery and compliance.
	Meetings take place with the contractor, at an operational level on a weekly basis and, on a commercial level on a quarterly basis.
	The performance by GEO the contractor running Harmondsworth has been below the high standard expected and in response to the inspection report a Service Improvement Plan is being drawn up addressing each recommendation made and outlining what action will be taken.
	Under the protocol with Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons this will be undertaken within two months of the report's publication. Thereafter, the Home Office has 18 months to effect the improvements.
	However, the Home Office has already engaged with the contractor and put in place a range of actions to address the areas of immediate concern.

Health Services: Foreign Nationals

Richard Harrington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been denied entry to the UK since the introduction of regulations which bar entry to those visa applicants who owe more than £1,000 to the NHS; and how many people have started to make payments under such regulations.

Mark Harper: holding answer 3 February 2014
	A refusal of an immigration application or application to enter the UK for a failure to pay outstanding NHS charges will be classed as a refusal on general grounds. It is not possible to distinguish cases where the outstanding charge has led to a refusal, from other general grounds for refusal.
	It is not possible to establish how many people have made repayments to the NHS as a direct result of these immigration rules. However, some NHS hospitals have reported that this has resulted in the better payment of debts by chargeable visitor patients.

Human Trafficking

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many victims of trafficking for purposes of (a) labour exploitation and (b) domestic servitude received compensation through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority in each year since 2010.

Damian Green: The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) does not hold this information. There are several reasons for this. Before 2012 CICA did not record the specific crime of which their applicants had been a victim. This was because payments are based primarily on the injuries someone sustains rather than the crime of which they were a victim. While an applicant had to be the victim of a crime of violence, the specific crime generally had no bearing on the compensation claim. Since November 2012 CICA has recorded broad categories of crime but human trafficking is only currently recorded where it is for the purposes of sexual exploitation.

Illegal Immigrants

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many residential raids for immigration purposes were carried out between midnight and 8 am in the last 12 months; in how many of those cases children were expected to be present; and in how many of those cases one or more parent or guardian was removed.

Mark Harper: holding answer 21 January 2014
	The number of residential visits for the period 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2013 was 4,958. The number of children expected at these visits was 166.
	Residential visits data relates to the number of addresses targeted not the number of individuals expected at these visits. Number of residential visits is where the time of the visit is recorded as being between 0.00 and 08.00. A child is defined as anyone under 18 at the time of the visit. Data on the number of parent or guardian of the children expected to be present that were subsequently removed cannot be obtained without incurring disproportionate costs.

Immigration Bill

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the time limit will be for requesting an administrative review under the provisions of Clause 11 of the Immigration Bill currently before Parliament; and if she will make a statement.

Mark Harper: The time limits for requesting an administrative review for those in the UK will be the same as they currently are for appealing a decision. For those who are not detained this will be 10 days, for those in detention it will be five days and for anyone in the detained fast track it will be two days. I confirmed this on 12 November 2013 during Committee stage of the Immigration Bill in the House of Commons, Official Report, column 358.

Immigration: Appeals

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what targets she has established for timely payment of fees to junior barristers commissioned by her Department for representation at immigration and asylum tribunals; and if she will make a statement.

Mark Harper: holding answer 4 February 2014
	The Home Office complies with Government standards and targets for timely payment of all liabilities, including the payment of fees to junior barristers.

Immigration: Skilled Workers

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will list (a) the occupations which the Migration Advisory Committee has recently added to the shortage occupation list and (b) the estimated shortages by category.

Mark Harper: holding answer 4 February 2014
	The most recent changes to the shortage occupation list were made in response to the Migration Advisory Committee's report of February 2013. The occupations added to the list were:
	Non-consultant, non-training medical staff posts in rehabilitation medicine and psychiatry
	All mechanical engineers within the oil and gas industry
	Nuclear safety case engineers
	Mechanical design engineers (stress)
	Piping design engineers
	Thermofluid/process engineers
	Electrical machine design engineers
	Power electronics engineers
	Signalling design managers
	Signalling design engineers
	Signalling principles designers
	Senior signalling design checkers
	Signalling design checkers
	Signalling systems engineers
	Product development engineers
	Product design engineers
	Integrated circuit design engineers
	Integrated circuit test engineers
	Driver developers
	Embedded communications engineers
	Specialist electronic engineers
	Informaticians
	Bio-informaticians
	Games designers within the computer games industry.
	The Migration Advisory Committee's assessment of the shortages in each of these occupations is set out in its report, which can be found at:
	http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/workingwithus/mac/34mac-sixth-review/

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to the Minister for Immigration dated 23 December 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs Elizabeth Adejoke Omitola.

Mark Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 3 February 2014.

Offenders: EU Nationals

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many non-British EU nationals were convicted of a serious crime in the UK in each of the last three years; and how many such people have been successfully deported.

Mark Harper: The first table shows the number of non-British EU nationals convicted of a serious crime between January 2010 and September 2013. A serious crime is taken as a custodial sentence of 12 months or more for an offence involving drugs, violent or sexual crimes or a custodial sentence of 24 months or more for other offences.
	The second table shows the number of non-British EU nationals that were convicted of a serious crime and were deported between January 2010 and September 2013. The tables do not refer to the same cohort of cases as a number of those removed would have been convicted prior to 2010. The year of removal may also differ from the year of conviction.
	
		
			 Non-British EU nationals convicted of a serious crime 
			  EEA criteria convictions 
			 2010 715 
			 2011 725 
			 2012 825 
			 2013 (to Q3) 780 
			 Total 3,045 
		
	
	
		
			 Non-British EU nationals deported by year of deportation 
			  Total 
			 2010 590 
			 2011 700 
			 2012 875 
			 2013 (To Q3) 690 
			 Grand total 2,855

Overseas Trade: Sanctions

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on the composition of trade delegations from countries which trade sanctions are in place.

Mark Harper: holding answer 3 February 2014
	Prospective members of such trade delegations may require a visa to visit the United Kingdom. Their visa applications would be dealt with in accordance with established visa and immigration procedures. If any of these individuals were themselves subject to sanctions, such as an EU travel ban, these applications would be refused. Equally, anyone subject to an exclusion or deportation order would generally be refused leave to enter the UK.

Passports

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints (a) her Department and (b) the Passport and Identity Service have received about websites that charge an additional processing fee for making a passport application in the past 12 months.

Mark Harper: The website:
	www.gov.uk
	is the only provider of the British passport and passport applicants should use the official Government website.
	Between April and December 2013, Her Majesty's Passport Office received 590 written customer complaints relating to the issue of third party websites.
	The Government Digital Service are leading a cross-Government exercise with organisations such as the Office of Fair Trading, the Advertising Standards Authority, search engine providers and various trading standard bodies to curtail the activity of websites that advertise their services in misleading ways.

Police: Training

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her Department’s plans for the National College of Policing's domestic violence training are; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: The College of Policing is currently developing new training for Domestic Violence Disclosure Procedures. This will be accessible from March 2014 and Domestic Violence Protection Orders will be rolled out across police forces from March 2014.

Security: Northern Ireland

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times she has met the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (a) in total and (b) specifically to discuss security in Northern Ireland in the last 12 months.

Damian Green: Home Office Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of international partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of these meetings are passed to the Cabinet Office on a quarterly basis and are subsequently published on the Gov.uk website:
	http://data.gov.uk/dataset/ministerial-data-home-office

Shipping: Republic of Ireland

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussion the Government has had with the government of the Irish Republic regarding the movement of Filipino seamen with the Irish UK travel area.

Mark Harper: The Government has regular discussions with the Irish Government concerning the movement of people within the Common Travel Area. However, the issue of the movement of Filipino seamen has not recently arisen in these discussions.

Written Questions

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many written parliamentary questions for a named day her Department has (a) received and (b) answered with a substantive reply by the named day in the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement.

Mark Harper: holding answer 29 November 2014
	The Home Department has (a) received 1152 named day parliamentary questions and has (b) answered 447 with a substantive reply by the named day in the last 12 months.
	Please note this answer is based on internal management information; it is provisional and subject to change.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Housing: Construction

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  with reference to the five-year housing land supply requirements in the National Planning Policy Framework, what definition his Department uses of the terms persistent and under-delivery;
	(2)  if he will make it his policy that planning authorities which demonstrate progress on their local plan and delivery of new homes can be exempted from the requirement to have a 20 per cent buffer in housing land supply;
	(3)  if he will make it his policy that planning authorities which have adopted a local plan since the introduction of the National Planning Policy Framework are allowed to count all the allocated housing sites identified in that plan towards the 20 per cent buffer requirement, not just the deliverable yield from those sites in the first five years;
	(4)  what the evidential basis is for the adoption of a 20 per cent buffer for housing land allocation in local plans;
	(5)  what assessment he has made of the effect on planning authorities' ability to identify a 20 per cent buffer allocation of land for housing of decisions by the Planning Inspectorate to adopt the Sedgefield approach to calculating land supply when determining appeals against such plans.

Nicholas Boles: The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that where there has been a record of persistent under delivery of housing, local planning authorities should increase the buffer to 20% (moved forward from later in the plan period) to provide a realistic prospect of achieving the planned supply and to ensure choice and competition in the market for land. The 20% buffer is intended to mitigate the greater risk that an authority which has previously under-delivered will continue to fail to deliver the housing their community needs.
	The Government has not set out a methodology for assessing persistent under delivery of housing as the factors behind persistent under delivery vary from place to place.
	The framework sets out that, sites for the five year supply should be deliverable. This can include sites with or without planning permission—it would be for the local P planning authority to make a judgment as to whether any particular site is likely to be delivered in the five-year period.
	The recently published draft planning guidance sets out that past under, supply should be dealt with in the first five years of the plan period where possible. The final version of the National Planning Policy Guidance will go live following consideration of comments received during the test phase. The comments received will help us consider the potential impact of this approach.

Housing: Construction

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his policy is on local planning authorities making allowances in their five-year housing land supply calculations for an increase in housing supply arising from the introduction of new permitted development rights.

Nicholas Boles: The draft National Planning Practice Guidance sets out that when assessing land availability, local planning authorities should consider all available types of sites, and highlights that potential permitted development changes may be particularly relevant.
	The final version of the National Planning Practice Guidance will go live following consideration of comments received during the test phase.

Housing: Construction

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what his policy is on local planning authorities assuming in local plans that, where demand exists, sites of over 200 units will be developed by a number of developers concurrently, and therefore delivered at an annual build rate two or three times that for a single developer;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effects of (a) changes made to affordable housing contribution rates, (b) reduction of infrastructure barriers and (c) other steps taken by local planning authorities to encourage development on the assumption that authorities can make in local plans about the annual build rate of developers;

Nicholas Boles: The National Planning Policy Framework encourages a proactive approach to plan-making and decision-taking. Sites that are chosen to go forward into development plans should not have constraints that prevent their delivery.
	It is for individual local planning authorities to assess the delivery rate of development based on a range of factors that are influenced in part by local circumstances. It would not be appropriate for central Government to make assessments, or issue indicative build out rates which would restrict the freedom for local planning authorities to make the right decisions on build out rates locally.
	The assumptions made in local plans will be subject to scrutiny through independent examination and interested parties can make representations.

Housing: Construction

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will make it his policy that where local planning authorities have up-to-date local plans, under-delivery calculations are capped at three years after the introduction of the National Planning Policy Framework.

Nicholas Boles: An up-to-date adopted local plan would need to be based on an objective assessment of housing need, which can be informed by past under or over delivery.
	We have allowed local planning authorities the flexibility to consider the most appropriate period over which to consider any past under-delivery based on their local circumstances and subject to the scrutiny of a planning inquiry and examination.

Housing: Construction

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will make it his policy that potential housing sites on which extensive consultation and public engagement has already taken place can be included in calculations of five-year housing supply in local plans.

Nicholas Boles: The National Planning Policy Framework sets out clearly the importance of public involvement in the planning system. Sites identified in the five year supply need to be deliverable. To be considered deliverable, sites should be available now, offer a suitable location for development now, and be achievable with a realistic prospect that housing will be delivered on the site within five years and in particular that development of the site is viable.
	Sites which have been consulted on as part of the local plan may meet this test. Sites with planning permission (which are likely to have been subject to consultation and engagement) should be considered deliverable until permission expires, unless there is clear evidence that schemes will not be implemented within five years, for example they will not be viable, there is no longer a demand for the type of units or sites have long term phasing plans.

Housing: Construction

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent assessment he has made of progress on the (a) Build to Rent Fund, (b) Private Rented Sector Guarantee scheme and (c) Affordable Housing Guarantee scheme.

Kris Hopkins: The Homes and Communities Agency received approximately £1.4 billion worth of bids for the Build to Rent Fund under Round One. Two contracts have been exchanged and we expect all successful Round One bids to be in the contracting stage by the end of April 2014.
	Round Two was significantly oversubscribed, which shows the strength of interest in this emerging market. 126 bids were received worth approximately £3 billion, which are currently being assessed for shortlisting. We hope to make an announcement of shortlisted bidders, who will progress to due diligence in March 2014.
	The Department for Communities and Local Government has been open for business for direct Private Rented Sector guarantees since 20 June and is in discussions with interested borrowers with large enough projects to raise their own finance. The Department has also been engaging with the market to explore the potential for market led solutions for delivery of the Scheme.
	On 20 June 2013 we announced the appointment of Affordable Housing Finance Plc to deliver the Affordable Housing Guarantees Scheme.
	A £500 million European Investment Bank loan facility was announced on 7 January as well as the first eight borrowers receiving up to £400 million to build, own and manage up to 4,000 homes. Affordable Housing Finance has received a healthy level of interest and there are several other bidders in the pipeline.

Housing: Construction

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many schemes under the Build to Rent Fund have (a) cleared due diligence and (b) started construction.

Kris Hopkins: Under Round 1, the first two contracts in Southampton and Manchester have been exchanged and will deliver just under 300 new homes specifically for the private rented sector. Construction has already begun on both sites.
	A further three projects delivering 416 units have been approved following due diligence and are in the contracting stage. We expect to announce these projects in the near future.
	The remaining 16 shortlisted bids under Round 1 are in the final stages of due diligence, pending final approval. We expect all successful Round 1 bids to be in the contracting stage by the end of April 2014.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Crown Prosecution Service

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General pursuant to the answer of 27 January 2014, Official Report, column 452W, on Crown Prosecution Service, if he will place the preliminary CPS review of R v. Renate Andrews in the Library.

Oliver Heald: The post-case review panel is yet to meet to fully consider and explore what happened in this case. As the Attorney-General said in his answer on 27 January 2014, Official Report, column 452W, when the review is completed he will write to you. I do not propose to place the preliminary CPS review in the Library of the House.

Prosecutions

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General pursuant to the answer of 29 October 2013, Official Report, column 399W, on prosecutions, whether the National Scrutiny Panel has met.

Oliver Heald: To better understand the fall in referrals of rape cases, the joint National Scrutiny Panel of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the National Policing Lead for Rape are scheduled to convene in April. The findings from the panel will be published shortly thereafter. In preparation for the panel, a sample of police forces has been contacted to investigate the variation in the change in volumes of rape referrals and a meeting to analyse the results of work will be held this month.
	Violence against women and girls is a key priority for the Crown Prosecution Service and in 2012-13 the conviction rates for cases flagged as rape were at record highs for the second year running.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Business: Human Rights

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent discussions he has had with his ministerial colleagues on the UK Action Plan on Business and Human Rights.

Nicholas Clegg: Information relating to internal discussion and advice is not normally disclosed.

Colombia

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will meet trades unionists during his forthcoming visit to Colombia.

Nicholas Clegg: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 30 January 2014, Official Report, column 692W.

Colombia

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether all organisations and individuals accompanying him on his forthcoming visit to Colombia have been briefed on the UK Action Plan on Business and Human Rights.

Nicholas Clegg: Information relating to internal discussion and advice is not normally disclosed.

Colombia

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will be accompanied by (a) a human rights adviser and (b) an expert on the Government’s Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative on his forthcoming visit to Colombia.

Nicholas Clegg: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 30 January 2014, Official Report, column 692W.

Electoral Register

David Blunkett: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister with which outside academic bodies the Democratic Engagement Project is now working.

Greg Clark: The Government is working with a range of national organisations that encourage people to register to vote.
	Cabinet Office manages a student forum that brings together key people within the higher/further education sector, the National Union of Students and local authorities with the highest student populations. The forum shares best practice to reinforce the maximum registration of students and increases awareness of individual electoral registration across the higher/further education sector.
	The Government has also announced that five national organisations and every local authority in Great Britain will be sharing £4.2 million funding aimed at ensuring everyone in the country has the opportunity to have their say at elections

Peru and Colombia

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discussions he has had regarding the human rights and labour standards clauses in the EU Free Trade Agreement with Peru and Colombia ahead of his visit to South America.

Nicholas Clegg: Information relating to internal discussion and advice is not normally disclosed.

DEFENCE

Air Force: Redundancy

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the specialist qualifications and responsibilities are of the 70 dental and medical staff who are part of the recently announced redundancy package in the RAF; how many dental and medical staff within the RAF hold those same qualifications; what financial savings are expected from the redundancies; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: The redundancies for the RAF in Tranche 4 are not driven by the need for financial savings; they flow from the Defence Medical Services 2020 project (DMS 20) which has been designed to comprehensively review the existing manpower requirement and ensure the armed forces have the medical operational capability to support the armed forces structures under Future Force 2020.
	In order to meet the DMS 20 requirement by April 2018, the RAF has identified a total of up to 69 dental and medical personnel in this fourth, and final, tranche of the armed forces redundancy scheme. For details of these posts, including the maximum numbers to be drawn from each specialism, I refer the hon. Member to the document which was placed in the Library of the House on 23 January 2014 (DEP2014-0098).
	The redundancy selection process in the RAF has yet to take place, and no further information on the qualifications and/or responsibilities of those who will be made redundant is therefore available. Neither would it be appropriate to release personal data relating to qualifications held. However, I am clear that we will retain the medical and dental skills necessary to support our service personnel. The upper limit of 69 personnel represents the maximum possible number of redundees from an overall eligible field of around 155 personnel.
	More generally, we have made no estimate of the savings accruing specifically from the redundancy and early release programmes themselves, since they are part of broader work force reductions. We estimate, however, that by 2021-22 we will have achieved cumulative savings of some £23 billion as a result of reductions in service and civilian personnel, and greater efficiency in the conduct of non-front line activities.

Armed Forces: Redundancy

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking to ensure that any members of any of the armed forces medical and dental corps made redundant on 23 January 2014, Official Report, column 461, will be transitioned into the NHS;
	(2)  if he will provide details of the redundancy packages to be received by members of the armed forces who will be made redundant as a result of the programme announced on 23 January 2014, Official Report, column 461;
	(3)  what estimate his Department has made of the number of service personnel included in the part of the armed forces redundancy programme announced on 23 January 2014, Official Report, column 461 will be made redundant within one year of accruing their immediate pension point;
	(4)  what estimate his Department has made of how many of the redundancies in the armed forces announced on 23 January 2014, Official Report, column 461, will be compulsory.

Anna Soubry: In keeping with the first three tranches of the armed forces redundancy scheme, the recently announced redundancies in this fourth, and final, tranche will be compulsory. However, eligible personnel (by rank, branch or trade) will be able to apply for selection for compulsory redundancy. Applicants formed 62% of those made redundant in Tranche 1, 72% in Tranche 2 and 84% in Tranche 3, although we anticipate that this percentage will be lower in Tranche 4 due to the historically low level of volunteers among Gurkhas, and the fact that a number of specialist fields will face 100% selection, meaning there is little or no incentive to volunteer.
	The notification date for those selected in Tranche 4 (applicants and non-applicants) is 12 June 2014. Applicants will leave within six months and non-applicants within 12 months of that date. At this point we do not know which personnel will be selected, and it is therefore not possible to forecast with any certainty the numbers of personnel who may be made redundant within one year of reaching their Immediate Pension Point (IPP). However, given the nature of the fields (ranks and length of service) we are looking at in this tranche, we expect the number of people potentially at risk of redundancy who are within a year of IPP to be very small compared with previous tranches.
	Redundancy packages for those selected will vary according to which redundancy scheme applies to those individuals, their salary and length of service. An updated redundancy calculator can provide service personnel with a forecast of their redundancy and pension benefits—available on line at:
	http://www.mod-rc.co.uk/
	All personnel who are subject to redundancy are entitled to the same comprehensive resettlement package they would have received had they completed the whole of their service commitment. In addition, specific arrangements will be made for medical personnel currently in training who wish to continue their training as a civilian. The Defence Deanery is currently engaging with the single services, NHS Deans and Health Education England in order to create the condition to transfer any trainee made redundant into an NHS training programme.

DA Notices

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to amend the D-Notice system.

Anna Soubry: The scope and conduct of a review into the future of the Defence Advisory Notice System has not yet been determined.

France

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress was made at the recent Franco- British summit in relation to defence equipment collaboration; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Dunne: Significant progress was made on equipment co-operation at the Franco-British summit on 31 January 2014. We signed documents that will enable a two-year joint feasibility phase for the Future Combat Air System (FCAS). It will see British and French industries working together on vehicle design and characteristics, propulsion and systems. Additionally, the UK continues to support France with the best information possible to help inform their major decision points for acquiring a Tactical Unmanned Air System. Defence Ministers also signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the development and manufacture of a Future Anti-Surface Guided Weapon that will arm the Wildcat naval helicopter against a range of predicted future threats in complex environments. In addition, we committed to the initial design stage for an unmanned under water vehicle capable of finding and neutralising seabed mines. We expect to place a contract later this year. We also agreed to continue to work with industry to deliver a common value for money support plan for the A400M transport fleet. There are also ongoing discussions to explore opportunities in the land domain.

Military Aviation Authority

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether people who have signed non-disclosure orders relating to Military Aviation Authority reports can obtain legal and technical advice which would necessitate others having sight of the document.

Anna Soubry: Yes. Recipients of Military Aviation Authority Service Inquiry reports who have signed a non-disclosure agreement may show the report to others for the purposes of obtaining legal and technical advice. Such persons will be asked to acknowledge the requirement to protect the information, and advisers other than legal advisers will be asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement.

Military Bases: Drugs

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many incidents have been reported of (a) civilian staff and (b) military personnel using illegal drugs at UK nuclear bases in each of the last three years.

Anna Soubry: I will write to the hon. Member shortly.

Pensions

Michael McCann: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what effect changes in pension contributions have had on the take-home pay of officials of his Department at (a) AA, (b) AO and LO2, (c) EO and LO1, (d) HEO, (e) SEO, (f) 7 and (g) SCS grades and equivalents since May 2010.

Anna Soubry: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by the Minister of State, Cabinet Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (Mr Hurd), on 4 February 2014, Official Report, columns 214-5W.

Public Expenditure

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of likely cash spending levels for (a) Navy Command, (b) Land Forces, (c) Air Command, (d) Defence Infrastructure Organisation and (e) Defence Equipment and Support in each of the next four financial years.

Anna Soubry: Future budgets for the top level budgets requested are working numbers and subject to change. As such, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not publish this information. Details of former years' cash spending by top level budget can be found in the MOD Annual Report and Accounts, which is available on the gov.uk website at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mod-annual-report-and-accounts-201213

Radioactive Waste: Fife

Gordon Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will set out a timetable for remedial action work to begin and be completed at Dalgety Bay;
	(2)  if he will discuss with the Defence Infrastructure Organisation detailed options for cleaning up the radiation contamination at Dalgety Bay;
	(3)  for what reasons his Department was not represented at the Dalgety Bay Forum on 30 January 2014;
	(4)  if he will instruct officials of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation to meet representatives of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the Dalgety Bay community within the next week.

Andrew Murrison: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) continues to work closely with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), and the stakeholder group they have assembled, with a view to agreeing an appropriate long term solution for managing the radium contamination at Dalgety Bay.
	I will write shortly to the right hon. Member with the detail of the timelines for the further scientific risk assessment and other work necessary to identify an appropriate long-term solution at Dalgety Bay. This timetable has been agreed between SEPA and the MOD and should result in identification of the preferred management option for the site by summer 2014.
	Having published the Outline Management Option Appraisal MOD officials will be meeting with both SEPA and Public Health England on 6 February 2014 in order to establish the health protection criteria necessary to inform the development and definition of the management option.
	Once work on identifying the most appropriate long term management option has concluded, we expect to play an active part in supporting SEPA in their engagement with wider stakeholders (including the Dalgety Bay Forum) to discuss the practicalities of implementation.
	With regard to the recent meeting of the Dalgety Bay Forum on 30 January 2014, no requirement was placed on the MOD to present but we remain willing to participate in any future discussions with the Forum whenever this is necessary and as requested by SEPA as Chair of the Forum.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 29 January 2014, Official Report, column 598W, on drones, what definition he uses of contingent purposes.

Philip Dunne: holding answer 4 February 2014
	The definition of contingent purposes is to ensure that the UK is able to deal with a wide range of security challenges to UK interests. This requires a variety of capabilities.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 29 January 2014, Official Report, column 598W, on drones, what possible options he is considering for future basing options of Reaper drones.

Philip Dunne: holding answer 4 February 2014
	I have nothing further to add to the answer I gave on 29 January 2014.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 29 January 2014, Official Report, column 598W, on drones, when a final decision will be reached as to the future basing options for Reaper drones.

Philip Dunne: holding answer 4 February 2014
	A final decision is likely to be made by the end of 2014.

Veterans: Employment

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of service leavers entered the Career Transition Partnership Programme in each year since 2010; and how many of those were successful in pursuing new careers.

Anna Soubry: The percentage of armed forces (AF) personnel who have left service and taken part in the Career Transition Partnership (CTP) programme for financial years (FY) 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12 and the first two quarters of 2012-13 (the period for which the information is readily available) is detailed in the following table. It should be noted that some service leavers decide not to take up support from the CTP.
	
		
			 FY Number of AF personnel leaving the AF Number of AF personnel eligible for CTP Number of eligible AF personnel registered with CTP Number of AF personnel who went on to use the CTP Percentage of all AF service personnel who used the CTP 
			 2009-10 18,090 11,130 9,660 8,440 47 
			 2010-11 18,030 12,400 10,960 8,950 50 
			 2011-12 21,380 16,390 14,460 11,300 53 
			       
			 Quarter      
			 2012-13 Q1 5,510 4,200 3,860 2,740 50 
			       
			 2012-13 Q2 6,320 p,340 4,870 3,650 58 
		
	
	Figures show outflow, less deaths, from the trained UK regular forces, including personnel leaving the services and recalled reservists on release. These figures include Gurkhas, but do not include full-time reserve service personnel and mobilised reservists.
	Over the periods detailed in the table some 85% of former CTP participants found employment within six months of leaving service. Evidence provided by service leavers indicates that the resettlement provision is consistently to a high standard and that the services they provide do assist with a successful transition to civilian life.
	The employment outcome statistics for armed forces personnel leaving the services who use the Career Transition Partnership services are published as Official Statistics by Defence Statistics at the following link:
	http://www.dasa.mod.uk/index.php/publications/health/veterans/career-transition-partnership

World War I: Anniversaries

Steven Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will take steps to ensure the participation in commemorations of the First World War of RAF squadrons whose formation can be traced to that war.

Andrew Murrison: The Ministry of Defence will continue to work closely with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to ensure that single service units, both past and present, will be appropriately represented in world war one (WWI) commemorations. The Royal Air Force remains actively engaged with the planning for WWI commemorations.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Pensions

Michael McCann: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what effect changes in pension contributions have had on the take-home pay of officials of her Department at (a) AA, (b) AO and LO2, (c) EO and LO1, (d) HEO, (e) SEO, (f) 7 and (g) SCS grades and equivalents since May 2010.

Alan Duncan: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for Civil Society, my hon. Friend the Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (Mr Hurd), on 4 February 2014, Official Report, columns 214-5W.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

International Atomic Energy Agency

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of resources possessed by the International Atomic Energy Agency and its ability to enforce the terms agreed with Iran in November 2013.

Hugh Robertson: The Joint Plan of Action (JPA) makes clear that the IAEA will be responsible for the verification of nuclear-related measures Iran has committed to, and it has already begun this important work. However it will not be responsible for enforcement. The JPA makes clear that a Joint Commission of E3+3 and Iran will be established to monitor the implementation of the near-term measures in the Geneva agreement and to address issues that may arise.
	In its report of 17 January the IAEA made clear that it will require additional resources to carry out the verification of the JPA and that 5.5 million euros would be required from voluntary contributions from member states. A number of countries have offered to contribute to this effort and we are confident that the IAEA will have sufficient resources to carry out this important work. The United Kingdom has committed to contribute £400,000.

Interpal

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the US authorities on having the label ‘specially designated global terrorist entity’ lifted from the charity organisation Interpal.

Hugh Robertson: The question of Interpal’s status is a matter for Interpal to pursue directly with the US Government.

Iran

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on Iran's ballistic missile programme; and whether the Joint Plan of Action requires Iran to suspend research and development and production.

Hugh Robertson: We carefully monitor Iran's ballistic missile related activity, including activity which is in breach of UNSCR 1929. This states that Iran shall not undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons. We continue to urge Iran to comply with these obligations. The Joint Plan of Action, however, does not address Iran's ballistic missile programme.

Iran

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to reach a comprehensive final settlement on Iran's nuclear programme.

Hugh Robertson: E3+3 talks with Iran on a comprehensive solution will begin on 18 February in Vienna. The Joint Plan of Action, agreed between the E3+3 and Iran on 24 November and implemented on 20 January, is a good first step but it does not address all of the international community's concerns. Iran must take further steps to ensure the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear programme. The E3+3 and Iran aim to conclude negotiations on a comprehensive solution within the next 12 months.

Iran

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the outcome of the negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme at the Geneva summit; and if he will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: The Joint Plan of Action, agreed between the E3+3 and Iran in Geneva on 24 November, came into force on 20 January. It applies for six months, renewable by mutual consent. Under the agreement, Iran is required to halt its nuclear programme, and in some places roll it back. The IAEA has verified that Iran has taken the interim steps outlined in the Joint Plan of Action and will continue to verify this throughout the duration of the agreement. However, this is only the first step towards addressing international concerns about Iran's nuclear programme. The next phase of negotiations will focus on securing a long-term comprehensive solution to ensure the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear programme.

Iran

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 28 January 2014, Official Report, column 472W, on Iran, whether Iran has clarified how it would use plutonium produced at the Arak Heavy Water Research Reactor.

Hugh Robertson: Iran claims that the purpose of the Heavy Water Research Reactor it is building, in violation of UNSCRs, is to produce medical isotopes and conduct research. However, the design of this reactor is ideally suited to producing weapons grade plutonium and we remain concerned that Iran intends to develop the facility to provide a plutonium route to a nuclear weapon. Iran has not clarified how it would use the plutonium produced as a result of operating the reactor. Under the Joint Plan of Action Iran has agreed that, as part of a comprehensive solution, it will fully resolve concerns related to the reactor at Arak and will undertake no reprocessing or construction of a facility capable of reprocessing.

Iran

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 28 January 2014, Official Report, column 472W, on Iran, whether the Joint Plan of Action requires Iran to provide detailed information to the International Atomic Energy Agency on all undeclared nuclear facilities.

Hugh Robertson: Under Iran's Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA it is required to declare all facilities containing nuclear material. There should therefore be no undeclared facilities. Modified Code 3.1 in the subsidiary arrangements to its safeguards agreement requires Iran to inform the agency as soon as a decision is taken to construct a nuclear facility. Iran refuses to implement modified Code 3.1 which raises concerns it is seeking to hide something.
	Under the Joint Plan of Action Iran has agreed that there will be no new locations for enrichment in the next six months, and also accepted enhanced monitoring by the IAEA. Under the Joint Statement on a Framework for Cooperation agreed between Iran and the IAEA, Iran has agreed to give the IAEA information on the 16 sites designated for the construction of new nuclear power plants, clarification about Iran's announcement about new enrichment facilities, and information about all new research reactors. This is information which would be required under modified Code 3.1.

Iran

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 28 January 2014, Official Report, column 472W, on Iran, whether the Joint Plan of Action allows Iran to manufacture components off-site for the Arak Heavy Water Research Reactor.

Hugh Robertson: The Joint Plan of Action does not prohibit Iran from manufacturing components off-site for the Arak Heavy Water Research Reactor. All heavy water related activity is, however, prohibited under UNSCR 1737. Under the Joint Plan of Action, Iran agreed to freeze progress on the Arak Heavy Water Research Reactor, not to commission it, or transfer fuel or heavy water to the reactor site. Iran also agreed not to produce or test additional fuel or install remaining components. The final step of a comprehensive solution must fully resolve concerns related to the reactor at Arak.

Israel

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what conditions the EU Commission has set for Israel's participation in Horizon 2020.

Hugh Robertson: We welcome the agreement reached between the EU and Israel to enable Israeli participation in Horizon 2020, the EU's Research and Innovation programme, in line with the EU guidelines on the eligibility of Israeli entities for EU funding. We are not aware of the conditions the European Commission has set for Israel's participation, which is a matter for the European Commission.

Occupied Territories

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the progress of negotiations on settlements in the West Bank; and if he will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: When US Secretary of State John Kerry announced the resumption of peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians on 29 July, he confirmed both sides' agreement that the negotiations would cover all final status issues, and that they would keep the details of the ongoing negotiations confidential. Britain stands ready to do all we can to support the parties and the US in their efforts to achieve a lasting peace for the Israeli and Palestinian people.

Pensions

Michael McCann: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what effect changes in pension contributions have had on the take- home pay of officials of his Department at (a) HEO, (b) SEO, (c) 7 and (d) SCS grades and equivalents since May 2010.

Hugh Robertson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my the Minister for Civil Society, my hon. Friend the Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (Mr Hurd), on 4 February 2014, Official Report, column 214W.
	This Cabinet Office answer to UIN 185222 provides information about how the take home pay of those with different levels of salaries is affected by the pension contribution increases.

Sri Lanka

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent steps his Department has taken to encourage reconciliation between the conflicting sides in Sri Lanka.

Hugo Swire: We continue to consistently call for progress on human rights, reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka, both privately and publicly. During his visit to Sri Lanka to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in November 2013, the Prime Minister raised our concerns directly with President Rajapaksa. The Prime Minister called for a credible and transparent independent investigation into allegations of violations of humanitarian and human rights law during the military conflict, a meaningful political settlement with the North, including demilitarisation and full implementation of Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) recommendations. We judge all of these to be important steps towards reconciliation and lasting peace between communities in Sri Lanka.
	As a result of our continued concerns, the UK co-sponsored the UN Human Rights Council resolution on promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka in March 2013. We have made clear the ongoing importance that the international community attaches to lasting peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka. The Prime Minister has been clear that if credible domestic accountability processes have not begun properly by March 2014, the UK will use our position on the United Nations Human Rights Council to call for an international investigation.

Ukraine

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will hold discussions with his EU partners on introducing (a) a visa ban and (b) steps to freeze assets held within the EU on individuals involved in human rights abuses in Ukraine.

David Lidington: We remain concerned about the situation in Ukraine. We are monitoring developments closely and continue to co-ordinate our response with our international partners. We have not ruled out anything at this stage, but the immediate priority is restoring stability and helping Ukraine onto a path of political reform.
	I refer my hon. Friend to my statement 30 January 2014, Official Report, columns 43-4WS where I said that:
	“we will also continue to make it clear that to those concerned that any restrictions on fundamental rights or abuse of basic human rights by the authorities will have serious consequences for the relationship between Ukraine and the United Kingdom”.

HEALTH

Abortion

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many human embryos have been discarded in each year since 1990.

Jane Ellison: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that the following table includes the number of embryos that were allowed to perish: in the course of treatment; after having reached the end of their storage period and those where the sperm and/or egg provider had withdrawn consent (thereby requiring that the embryos be allowed to perish). These are embryos up to 14 days old.
	
		
			  Embryos allowed to perish 
			 1990 6 
			 1991 8,164 
		
	
	
		
			 1992 23,035 
			 1993 27,466 
			 1994 32,176 
			 1995 37,270 
			 1996 47,808 
			 1997 48,024 
			 1998 57,427 
			 1999 77,269 
			 2000 85,938 
			 2001 88,039 
			 2002 96,377 
			 2003 96,309 
			 2004 98,348 
			 2005 100,547 
			 2006 108,080 
			 2007 116,342 
			 2008 112,050 
			 2009 132,536 
			 2010 155,557 
			 2011 168,613 
			 2012 166,631

Abortion

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many repeat abortions have been performed on women aged (a) under 20, (b) 20 to 24, (c) 25 to 29, (d) 30 to 34 and (e) 35 years and above in each year since 1984.

Jane Ellison: A repeat abortion is an abortion which is carried out on a woman who has had one or more previous abortions. Data are set out in the following tables. 2012 is the latest year for which data are available.
	The breakdown for the years 1984 to 1993 for women aged 30 to 34, and 35 years over could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			 Repeat abortions by age group, residents of England and Wales, 1984 to 2012 
			  Total under 20 20 to 24 25 to 29 30 and over Age not stated 
			 1984 20,936 2,172 6,769 5,436 6,551 8 
			 1985 22,153 2,327 7,187 5,900 6,738 1 
			 1986 24,577 2,483 7,913 6,746 7,434 1 
			 1987 27,641 2,633 9,217 7,791 7,997 3 
			 1988 33,958 3,123 11,198 9,839 9,796 2 
			 1989 36,821 3,141 12,140 10,833 10,706 1 
			 1990 39,325 3,316 12,452 11,774 11,782 1 
			 1991 39,917 2,983 12,272 12,075 12,586 1 
			 1992 39,795 2,782 11,786 12,371 12,854 2 
			 1993 40,947 2,631 11,576 12,781 13,956 3 
		
	
	
		
			  Total under 20 20 to 24 25 to 29 30 to 34 35 and over Age not stated 
			 1994 42,067 2,697 11,354 13,154 8,910 5,952 0 
			 1995 43,307 2,784 11,429 13,238 9,525 6,328 3 
			 1996 47,143 3,183 11,975 14,154 10,689 7,140 2 
			 1997 49,003 3,464 12,041 14,623 10,976 7,899 0 
			 1998 51,987 4,132 12,422 14,986 11,800 8,640 7 
			 1999 51,551 4,216 12,494 14,281 11,564 8,982 14 
			 2000 53,229 4,452 13,502 14,418 11,496 9,353 8 
			 2001 54,084 4,671 13,957 13,790 11,752 9,903 11 
			 2002 54,603 4,736 14,327 13,741 11,572 10,202 25 
			 2003 57,222 4,922 15,591 13,912 11,907 10,890 — 
			 2004 58,740 5,181 16,062 14,728 11,724 11,045 — 
		
	
	
		
			 2005 60,188 5,423 16,464 15,093 11,898 11,310 — 
			 2006 61,904 5,542 16,911 18,471 9,257 11,723 — 
			 2007 64,230 5,897 17,764 16,765 11,755 12,049 — 
			 2008 64,715 5,958 17,931 17,219 11,803 11,804 — 
			 2009 63,390 5,485 17,759 16,817 11,747 11,582 — 
			 2010 64,303 5,307 17,977 16,872 12,341 11,806 — 
			 2011 68,105 4,865 18,900 18,348 13,700 12,292 — 
			 2012 67,956 4,411 18,592 18,477 14,199 12,277 — 
			 Notes: 1. For the years 2003 to 2012, age ‘not stated’ are distributed pro rata across age group 20 to 24. 2. For each year between 2003 and 2012, total missing dates of birth were 77, 26, 26, 30, 71,45, 20, 9, 19, and 17, respectively. 3. The change in dealing with age not stated dates from 2002 when the Department of Health took over processing of abortion notification forms from the Office for National Statistics. ONS included an ‘age not stated’ column. The Department adopted a policy of imputation, and assigned cases pro rate within the 20 to 24 age group, as this is the modal age group, accounting for 30% of abortions. 4. Number of previous abortions ‘not stated’ are not included in the table.

Abortion

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to stop abortions due to the gender of the foetus being female;
	(2)  how many (a) male and (b) female foetuses were aborted in each of the last three years.

Jane Ellison: The chief medical officer has written to all doctors involved in abortion care on two occasions (23 February 2012 and 23 November 2013). Both letters stated that abortion on the grounds of gender alone is illegal. Further more detailed guidance on compliance with the Abortion Act is being developed.
	Data on the gender of aborted foetuses is not collected.

Analgesics

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the proportion of (a) dementia patients and (b) cognitively intact adults in care home settings who are prescribed analgesics.

Norman Lamb: Information on the prescribing of analgesics in care homes is not collected centrally.

Cancer: Drugs

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what discussions his Department has had with (a) the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and (b) NHS England on the potential effect of NICE's proposals for value-based assessment on (i) access to cancer medicines and (ii) expenditure on the Cancer Drugs Fund;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE's) proposals to value-based assessment on patient's access to cancer medicines; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is responsible for developing the methods for wider value assessment of new branded medicines. Departmental officials have had discussions with NICE as it has developed its proposals. NICE has not yet published its proposals for public consultation and the Department has made no assessment of their potential effect on access to cancer medicines.
	Departmental officials have regular discussions with NHS England about the management of the Cancer Drugs Fund and will continue to do so as the work to introduce wider value assessment continues.

Dementia

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many communities in England have (a) committed their intention to become dementia-friendly and (b) achieved dementia-friendly status and carry the Alzheimer's Society symbol.

Norman Lamb: One of the key commitments in the Prime Minister's Challenge on dementia is that by 2015 up to 20 cities and towns will have signed up to becoming more dementia friendly.
	Currently 40 communities in England are taking part in the dementia-friendly communities recognition process, run by the Alzheimer's Society, and have achieved the status “working to become dementia friendly”.
	A "Working to become Dementia Friendly symbol" is issued to communities that are registered and demonstrating action to become more dementia friendly.
	Becoming dementia friendly is a continual process and these communities have committed to shape their communities around the needs of people with dementia.

Dementia

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to update the National Dementia Strategy when it expires at the end of 2014; if he will include provisions for greater diagnosis and management of pain in dementia patients in any such update; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: The Prime Minister's Challenge runs to 2015, not just outliving the dementia strategy, but broadening its vision and providing better accountability.
	Decisions on what comes after the Prime Minister's Challenge will be made when we have assessed progress against its commitments.

Dementia

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to (a) produce national guidelines and (b) introduce training programmes on identifying the causes of challenging behaviour in dementia patients following a reduction in the use of antipsychotic drugs.

Norman Lamb: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence have issued quality standards for dementia including ensuring that staff are appropriately trained in dementia care and people with dementia with behaviour that is challenging are appropriately assisted.

Dental Health

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the British Medical Association on the potential health risks associated with mouthwashes.

Norman Lamb: A wide range of mouthwashes is available for use in the United Kingdom. Those which contain active pharmaceutical ingredients and/or make medicinal claims are authorised and regulated in accordance with medicines legislation by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Such products may be authorised to treat or prevent mouth, dental or throat disorders.
	Neither Ministers nor the MHRA have had discussions with the British Medical Association on the potential health risks associated with such products. The product information (the Summary of Product Characteristics and Patient Information Leaflet) details how the products should be used and what the possible side effects may be, and confirms that the balance of benefits and risks of such products is favourable when used in accordance with their marketing authorisation. As with all medicines, the MHRA keeps the safety of such products under continual review.

Depressive Illnesses

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the change was in the number of people diagnosed with depression between (a) 2003-04 and 2007-08 and (b) 2008-09 and 2012-13.

Norman Lamb: The data on diagnoses of depression is not available in the format that has been requested. The numbers of people newly diagnosed within each year are not available. However, the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) provides annual data from general practitioner (GP) practices on the prevalence of unresolved depression in patients aged 18 or over.
	The number of adults aged 18 or over on the QOF depression register as at 31 March of each year and the raw prevalence rates for all available years are given in the following table:
	
		
			 Number of adult patients aged 18 or over on the QOF depression register and the raw prevalence rate in England 
			  Sum of Register Count Prevalence1 (percentage) 
			 2008-092 4,373,974 8.1 
			 2009-10 4,648,287 10.7 
			 2010-11 4,878,188 11.2 
			 2011-12 5,123,948 11.7 
			 2012-133 2,582,233 5.8 
		
	
	
		
			 1 Raw Prevalence = sum of registers for ail practices/sum of list sizes for all practices (expressed as a percentage). 2 Calculation method changed after 2008-09. 2008-09 prevalence is presented on the basis of registers as a percentage of whole practice list size (patients of all ages). Figures for 2009-10 onwards show a percentage of patients aged 18 or over. 3 There was a change in the QOF business rules for the depression register in 2012-13. Previously all patients with a record of unresolved depression at any point in their GP patient record were included on the register. From April 2012, only patients with a record of unresolved depression since April 2006 were included. As a result, fewer patients are now included, thus reducing the reported prevalence for 2012-13. Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre QOF registers

Floods: South West

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the public health impact of the recent flooding in South West England; and what steps he is taking to address this issue.

Jane Ellison: The responsibility for assessment of the public health impacts of the recent flooding in the south-west of England lies with Public Health England (PHE) and its partners including local government and the national health service.
	When alerted to the likelihood of imminent severe weather PHE implemented its severe weather reporting protocol. Individual and population health needs have been assessed by local responders and have been fed back to the local Strategic Command Groups (Gold Command) who are being supported, where appropriate, by PHE led Science and Technical Advice Cells (STACs). No new or unexpected public health problems have been identified to date.
	Flood water from rivers and land is a known risk for the common bacterial gastrointestinal GI infections whether or not it is contaminated by human sewage. PHE carries out active surveillance for outbreaks of infectious diseases, and related illnesses (GI, skin, respiratory)—none of which have been identified in people living in the affected areas so far.
	Further advice has also been published to assist in cleaning up after floods. This emphasises the importance of good personal hygiene when in contact with flood water. PHE is also reinforcing its advice to the public on the importance of using generators safely in confined spaces which is a known cause of carbon monoxide poisoning following flooding incidents of the past.
	Any other public health issues identified by PHE's ongoing surveillance will be addressed by the local recovery groups with appropriate input from PHE, the local authority Director of Public Health and environmental health, and local NHS colleagues, including plans to manage any long-term health problems that develop in people who have been affected by the flooding.

Food

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent research his Department has evaluated on the contribution of incentives to the success of voluntary agreements with food companies on measures to improve public health; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: The Public Health Responsibility Deal evaluation commissioned by the Department comprises two parts: the scoping study; and the main evaluation. The scoping study is complete and included a review of voluntary agreements between Government and business. This makes reference to incentives and was published in the journal ‘Health Policy’ in 2013.

Food: Crime

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what cross-departmental meetings on food crime have been attended by (a) Ministers and (b) civil servants.

Jane Ellison: Department of Health Ministers have not attended cross-departmental meetings to discuss food fraud. Prior to the publication of the Elliott Review into the Integrity and Assurance of Food Supply Networks Interim Report on 12 December 2013, I met with Professor Elliott so that he could present his key findings and interim recommendations, including those related to food crime. Food Standards Agency (FSA) and departmental officials also met with Professor Elliott as part of the review process. We anticipate more cross-departmental meetings when Professor Elliot publishes the findings of his report.
	FSA officials have regular meetings with officials from the National Crime Agency, Intellectual Property Office, Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and Home Office to discuss food crime.
	Department of Health officials have met with the FSA, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and enforcement colleagues regarding management of incidents of food supplement products that contain either unsafe or medicinal ingredients, or make illegal claims.

Food: Crime

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will create a Food Crime Unit within the Food Standards Agency.

Jane Ellison: Professor Chris Elliott, who recommended the creation of a Food Crime Unit within the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in his interim report into the integrity and assurance of food supply networks, is now in further discussion with stakeholders before he finalises his report. In the meantime, the FSA is establishing a Food Crime Intelligence Unit which will act to draw together and analyse intelligence leads and share strategic and tactical assessments with relevant enforcement agencies. We look forward to receiving Professor Elliott's final report and recommendations.

General Practitioners: Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of GPs who have received mental health training.

Daniel Poulter: The standard and proficiency of treating patients with mental health conditions is an area that all general practitioners (GPs) must evidence as part of their specialist training.
	All trainee GPs must meet the requirements of the GP training curriculum, developed by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and approved by the General Medical Council which includes specific learning outcomes on dealing with patients with mental health problems. The standards also prepare GPs for beyond their training period and provide support for a professional life of development and change.
	The RCGP clinical examples apply the competences to the training curricular and state that all GPs should consider the mental health of a patient in every primary care consultation, but be aware of the dangers of medicalising distress.
	The Government's mandate to Health Education England (HEE), published in May 2013, states that:
	"Mental health is a matter for all health professionals and HEE should develop training programmes that will enable employers to ensure that staff have an awareness of mental health problems and how they may affect their patients."

General Practitioners: Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the level of mental health training currently given to GPs.

Daniel Poulter: We are assured that the training outcomes provided in the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) curriculum equips general practitioners (GPs) with the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully diagnose and treat mental health issues throughout their careers.
	However, to ensure standards remain high and training is proportionate to service needs, the RCGP will work to support, develop and improve GPs' knowledge and experience of the management of severe mental illness, including physical health and crisis care.
	The outcomes highlighted in the recent publication, “Closing the Gap: Priorities for essential change in mental health” (2014), reflect the Department's commitment to work with the RCGP and other key stakeholders to deliver these commitments.

Health Services

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps his Department has (a) taken and (b) plans to take in the next six months to ensure that patients and patient groups are adequately equipped to respond to the forthcoming consultation on value-based assessment; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps his Department has (a) taken and (b) plans to take in the next six months to ensure that the patient voice is heard in (i) the consultation on value-based assessment and (ii) future decision-making on treatments; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: As work to develop the wider value assessment for new medicines has progressed, we have engaged with interested groups, including patients and patient groups, industry, clinicians, academic experts and the national health service. We have provided a range of opportunities for stakeholders to contribute to the development of our plans. These included a public consultation between December 2010 and March 2011 and a series of engagement events and workshops.
	The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is now responsible for developing the methods for wider value assessment of new medicines and will carry out a public consultation before implementing the new arrangements. We understand that NICE is currently considering how best to engage with interested parties, including patients and patient groups, during this consultation process.
	Decisions on the most appropriate treatment for an individual patient remain a matter for the clinician and patient concerned.

Health Services: Private Sector

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent meetings (a) Ministers in his Department and (b) NHS England National Directors have held with representatives of private healthcare providers; and what the (i) dates, (ii) attendees and (iii) subject matter were of any such meetings.

Daniel Poulter: The details of meetings held by Ministers in the Department is published regularly online, including information about the organisations that attended and the subject of the meeting. The most recent information is available at:
	www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/273839/ministerial_gifts_hospitality_ travel_external_meetings_july_sept_2013.pdf
	The details of meetings held by NHS England national directors since February 2013 is set out in the following table:
	
		
			 NHS England national directors 
			 Date of meeting Attendees and organisation Purpose of meeting 
			 28 May 2013 Sir David Nicholson To discuss NHS 111 services 
			  Dame Barbara Hakin  
			  Mike Parish—Care UK,  
			  Jim Easton—Care UK,  
			  Eddie Jahn—Harmoni  
			    
			 28 May 2013 Sir David Nicholson To discuss health care provision. 
			  Dame Barbara Hakin  
			  Tom Riall—Priory Group  
			  Sian Wicks—Priory Group  
			    
			 10 June 2013 Tim Kelsey Introductory meeting. 
			  Dr Andrew Jones—Nuffield Health  
			    
			 1 October 2013 Tim Kelsey To discuss implementing electronic health records. 
			  Molly Porter  
			  Jed Weissberg—Kaiser Permanente  
			    
		
	
	
		
			 2 December 2013 Dame Barbara Hakin To discuss and agree effective mechanisms for ensuring appropriate engagement of independent and voluntary sector in the development and implementation of recovery and improvement plans for urgent care. 
			  Officials from:  
			  NHS England  
			  Monitor  
			  NHS Trust Development Authority  
			    
			  Representatives from:  
			  Barchester  
			  BMI Healthcare  
			  Care UK  
			  BUPA  
			  The Practice plc  
			  Virgin Care  
			  The Circle Partnership  
			  SERCO  
			  Court Cavendish  
			  The Priory Group  
			  Spire Healthcare  
			  FHSC  
			  Beacon Healthcare  
			  Ramsay Health  
			  Alliance Boots  
			  Hospital at Home  
			  Marie Curie  
			  Royal Voluntary Service  
			  Age UK  
			  Red Cross  
			  Acevo  
			  Independent Healthcare  
			  Cygnet Health  
			  St Andrews  
			  AIHO  
			  HCA Healthcare

Hospitals: Food

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what minimum nutritional standards his Department sets for hospital meals.

Daniel Poulter: Nutritious and appetising hospital food and drink are an essential part of the personal package of care and hospitals should take all reasonable steps to ensure that patients have a healthy food experience.
	The existing registration system, established under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, requires all providers of health and adult social care regulated activities to meet essential levels of safety and quality, and nutrition is a part of this. The requirement for food is that people are encouraged and supported to have sufficient food and drink that is nutritional and balanced, and a choice of food and drink to meet their different needs.
	The Department encourages hospitals to adopt Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services (Food GBS) which include food standards relating to nutrition, including reducing salt, fat and sugar content. In addition, financial incentives are now available to providers who adopt food standards. These incentives are part of the exemplar Commissioning for Quality and Innovation process and are negotiated locally.

Human-Animal Hybrid Embryos

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many human/animal hybrid embryos have been created in the UK since 2008.

Jane Ellison: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that the most recent information it holds shows that 155 embryos defined as human admixed embryos by section 4A(6)(a) of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, as amended, have been created since 2008. Human admixed embryos can only be used in research, not treatment.

Midwives: Sick Leave

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of midwives are on long-term registered sick leave.

Daniel Poulter: The proportion of national health service midwives who, as of 30 September 2013, were recorded in the Electronic Staff Record Data Warehouse as having been on continuous sickness absence for at least 28 days, is estimated to be 1.9%.

Ministers' Private Offices

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the (a) job title and (b) pay grade is of each member of staff in his private office; and when each member of staff was appointed;
	(2)  how many non-permanent civil servants work in his private office.

Daniel Poulter: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Job title Pay grade Appointed 
			 Officer Manager Administrative Officer 2010 
			 Assistant Diary Secretary Administrative Officer 2013 
			 Diary Secretary Executive Officer 2012 
			 Assistant to the Special Advisers Executive Officer 2012 
		
	
	
		
			 Cabinet Documents Officer Executive Officer 2012 
			 Assistant Private Secretary Higher Executive Officer 2013 
			 Assistant Private Secretary Fast Stream 2013 
			 Private Secretary Grade 7 2013 
			 Private Secretary Grade 7 2013 
			 Principal Private Secretary Senior Civil Servant Band 1 2013 
			 GP Clinical Adviser (one day a week) Secondee 2013 
			 Delivery Adviser Secondee 2013 
			 Delivery Adviser Secondee 2013 
			 Special Adviser Special Adviser Band 2 2013 
			 Special Adviser Special Adviser Band 2 2013 
			 Special Adviser Special Adviser Band 2 2014 
		
	
	With the exception of the three special advisers, there are three non-permanent civil servants working in the private office. All are bound by the civil service code in the same way as permanent civil servants and report to a senior civil servant.

NHS: Private Patients

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients have been transferred to an NHS hospital following complications in their treatment at a private hospital in each of the last 10 years.

Daniel Poulter: This information is not available in the format requested.
	In the following table we have provided a count of finished admission episodes for national health service providers where the source of admission was a non-NHS run hospital for the years 2003-04 to 2012-13 by admission method.
	
		
			 Count of finished admission episodes (FAEs)1 for NHS providers2 where the source of admission3 was a non-NHS run hospital for the years 2003-04 to 2012-134 by admission method5; activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			  Elective Emergency Other Total 
			 2003-04 1,514 3,919 1,784 7,217 
			 2004-05 1,562 3,541 1,622 6,725 
			 2005-06 1,757 2,539 1,538 5,834 
			 2006-07 1,637 2,647 1,466 5,750 
			 2007-08 1,879 3,006 1,608 6,493 
			 2008-09 1,868 2,445 1,661 5,974 
			 2009-10 1,902 2,540 1,551 5,993 
			 2010-11 1,502 2,158 1,531 5,191 
			 2011-12 1,569 2,440 1,427 5,436 
			 2012-13 1,697 2,622 1,748 6,067 
		
	
	
		
			 1Finished admission episodes A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period. 2NHS providers Where the provider type was one of the following: Care Trust, Foundation Trust, Primary Care Trust, NHS Hospital Trust, NHS Hospital Trust Treatment Centre. 3Source of admission Source of admission identifies where the patient was immediately prior to admission for example patients admitted from home and patients transferred from another hospital provider or institution, where the ADMISORC = 87 (Non-NHS run hospital). 4Assessing growth through time (In-patients) HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, changes in activity may be due to changes in the provision of care. 5Admission method Admission method identifies how the patient was admitted to hospital. Elective admissions include where the patient was on a waiting list and where the admission was booked or planned. Emergency admissions include admissions via Accident and Emergency (A&E) services, including the casualty department of the provider, via a general practitioner, via Bed Bureau including the Central Bureau, via consultant out-patient clinic, and by other means including patients who arrive via the A&E department of another health care provider. All admission methods which do not fit in to the above categories, including maternity related admissions, have been categorised as 'other'. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre

NHS: Sick Leave

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of NHS staff are on long-term registered sick leave.

Daniel Poulter: The proportion of national health service staff who, as of 30 September 2013, were recorded in the Electronic Staff Record Data Warehouse as having been on continuous sickness absence for at least 28 days, is estimated to be 1.7%.

Nuts: Allergies

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with health bodies on development of medication to prevent nut allergy.

Daniel Poulter: The Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt) has had no such discussions.
	The Department's National Institute for Health Research manages the Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation (EME) programme. Findings from an EME trial funded by the Medical Research Council assessing the efficacy of oral immunotherapy for the desensitisation of peanut allergy in children were published in The Lancet in January 2014.

Pain

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to include provisions on identifying pain in those less able to communicate in the Vulnerable Older People's Strategy.

Norman Lamb: Recently announced changes to the general practitioner (GP) contract aim to restore the link between family doctors and patients, giving GPs the opportunity to provide more proactive, personalised care for all. They also introduce a new requirement for named GPs for people over 75.
	The named GP will proactively ensure that a personalised care plan is in place, working with a multi professional team to make sure people stay healthy and independent for longer.
	GPs will need to work closely with other healthcare professionals, their patients and their carers to identify priorities for the care plan in a co-ordinated way.

Pain

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will direct the Care Quality Commission to assess the potential benefits of and include in their inspections questions on (a) training and (b) other provisions that care homes have put in place to assist in identifying pain in people less able to communicate in their assessments.

Norman Lamb: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care providers in England. Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the 2008 Act) all providers of regulated activities, including national health service and independent providers, have to register with the CQC and meet a set of requirements of safety and quality.
	(a) Under the registration requirements, employers must ensure that their employees are adequately trained to perform their duties.
	(b) In addition, care providers should encourage service users, or those acting on their behalf, to understand the care or treatment choices available and discuss the balance of risks and benefits involved in any particular course of care or treatment. CQC also requires the provider to encourage the service user to express their views on what is important to them in relation to their care or treatment.
	It is an offence if a provider fails to comply with the requirements and under the 2008 Act, and CQC has a wide range of enforcement powers that it can use if the provider is not compliant.
	It is CQC's responsibility to develop and consult on its methodology for assessing whether providers are meeting the registration requirements.
	On 15 October 2013, CQC published ‘A Fresh Start for the Regulation and Inspection of Adult Social Care’. This document sets out CQC's proposed changes to the regulation and inspection of Adult Social Care. CQC will carry out a full public consultation of these proposals in spring 2014.
	On 23 January 2014, the Department published a consultation on Fundamental Standards. The Francis Inquiry report recommended the introduction of new fundamental standards of safety and quality below which care should never fall. The Department committed to incorporate these into the requirements for registering with CQC.
	The Fundamental Standards are intended to be common-sense statements that describe the basic requirements that providers should always meet, and set out the outcomes that patients or care service users should always expect. All care providers registered with CQC will have to meet them. The consultation closes on 4 April.

Pancreatic Cancer

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to improve the diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic cancer in (a) Peterborough and (b) England.

Jane Ellison: The Government's Mandate to NHS England sets out an ambition to make England one of the most successful countries in Europe at preventing premature deaths from illnesses like cancer.
	Tackling late diagnosis is key to achieving this ambition. To support earlier diagnosis of symptomatic cancer, we have committed over £450 million in funding over the four years up to 2014-15.
	At a local level, it is for individual clinical commissioning groups to commission treatment and services for patients, as they are best placed to identify what is needed in their local areas.
	Support is available to help general practitioners assess when it is appropriate to refer patients for suspected cancer, such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) cancer referral guidelines.
	The NICE clinical guideline “Improving Outcomes for Upper Gastro-Intestinal Cancers” sets out best practice in the care, treatment and support for patients with pancreatic cancer and continues to be a feature of all commissioned pancreatic cancer services. A pancreatic cancer quality standard has also been referred to NICE for development.
	NHS England's pancreatic cancer service specification clearly defines what it expects to be in place for providers to offer evidence-based, safe and effective pancreatic cancer services. The service specification has been developed by specialised clinicians, commissioners, expert patients and public health representatives to describe core and developmental service standards.
	More generally, on 10 December 2013, the Department, NHS England and Public Health England jointly published the third annual report on the implementation of our Cancer Outcomes Strategy. The strategy sets out actions to tackle preventable cancer incidence; improve the quality and efficiency of cancer services; improve patients' experience of care; improve quality of life for cancer survivors; and deliver outcomes that are comparable with the best in Europe.

Pensions

Michael McCann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what effect changes in pension contributions have had on the take-home pay of officials of his Department at (a) AA, (b) AO and LO2, (c) EO and LO1, (d) HEO, (e) SEO, (f) 7 and (g) SCS grades and equivalents since May 2010.

Daniel Poulter: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister of State, Cabinet Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (Mr Hurd), on 4 February 2014, Official Report, columns 214-5W.

Secondment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many secondments of staff in his Department (a) to and (b) from the private sector have taken place in the last three months; and in each such case what the name of the organisation concerned and the duration of the secondment was.

Daniel Poulter: No staff at senior civil service level have been seconded in or out of the Department, to or from the private sector, during the last three months.
	Five or fewer other civil servants have been seconded out from the Department to the private sector during the last three months.
	During the last three months, five or fewer individuals have been seconded into the Department from the private sector. The companies from which these individuals were seconded were Ernst and Young, PA Consulting Group, Boston Consulting Group and Grant Thornton.

CABINET OFFICE

Bombings: Greater London

John Mann: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether any official files contain a more accurate and precise time of death of the 7/7 victims than that given to their families.

Francis Maude: The Cabinet Office files regarding the time of death of 7/7 victims do not differ from information already in the public domain.

Charities: Political Impartiality

David Davies: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what steps he has taken to ensure that charities do not act in a politically partisan way;
	(2)  what recent representations his Department has received about charities acting in a politically partisan way.

Nick Hurd: The Charity Commission is the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales and produces clear guidance explaining what political activity charities can and cannot undertake. The Commission will consider allegations of improper political activity by charities and take appropriate action if necessary.

Diabetes

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds died from type 2 diabetes in England in each year since 2003.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Caron Walker
	On behalf of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking the Secretary of State for Health how many people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds died from type 2 diabetes in England in each year since 2003. (186357)
	The mortality data held by ONS come from the information collected when a death is registered. All the conditions and circumstances recorded on the medical certificate of cause of death, or the coroner's death certificate, are coded using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10).
	Information on the ethnic background of the deceased is not recorded on the death certificate, nor collected as part of the registration process. Therefore we are unable to provide figures for the number of people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds who died from type 2 diabetes in England.
	The number of deaths registered in England and Wales each year by sex, age, cause, marital status, and place of death are published annually on the National Statistics website at:
	www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/all-releases.html?definition-tcm%3A77-27475

Honours

Dominic Raab: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many honours were awarded in each year since 1995.

Francis Maude: The number of honours awarded on the Prime Minister's list each year since 1995 is set out as follows. The figures do not include gallantry awards, peerages or long service medals.
	
		
			  Honours awarded on the PM's List 
			 1995 2,137 
			 1996 2,076 
			 1997 2,058 
			 1998 1,953 
			 1999 1,965 
			 2000 2,555 
			 2001 1,972 
			 2002 1,980 
			 2003 1,992 
			 2004 1,962 
			 2005 1,847 
			 2006 1,879 
			 2007 1,931 
			 2008 1,947 
			 2009 1,966 
			 2010 1,972 
			 2011 1,985 
			 2012 2,194 
			 2013 2,446 
			 2014 (to date) 1,202 
			 Total 40,019

Major Projects Authority

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  which projects and accompanying report have been examined by the Major Projects Authority since that body was established; and what traffic-light classification was given to each such project and report;
	(2)  what recruitment or executive search process was used to recruit the new Chief Executive of the Major Projects Authority; what the total cost of the recruitment process was; which individuals acting on behalf of the Government interviewed the candidates; and what recruitment or executive search companies were employed for this purpose; at what cost; and under which terms and conditions;
	(3)  what payments were made to David Pitchford, the former Executive of the Major Projects Authority, during the term of his appointment; what his (a) annual salary, (b) claimed bonuses, payoffs or other lump sums and (c) any other remuneration were; and if he will place in the Library a copy of his contract of employment;
	(4)  under which terms and conditions John Manzoni has been appointed Chief Executive of the Major Projects Authority; when he commences this position; what his annual salary and any bonus scheme is; and if he will place in the Library a copy of his contract of employment.

Francis Maude: The Major Projects Authority publishes project-level information on the Government's major projects. The first Annual report was published in May 2013 and can be viewed online.
	David Pitchford was Executive Director of the Major Projects Authority from February 2011 till September 2013. John Manzoni was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the MPA on 3 February 2014 on a three year fixed-term contract. He competed for the role through fair and open competition, following Civil Service Commission principals. The interview panel included; Jonathan Baume (Civil Service Commissioner. and Chair of panel); Sharon White (Second Permanent Secretary, HMT); Julia Bond (FCO Non Executive Board Member); Stephen Kelly (Chief Operating Officer) and Bill Crothers (Chief Procurement Officer). The job was advertised externally on the Civil Service Jobs website and an executive search was conducted using Korn/Ferry International Ltd. at a cost of £60,000. Salaries for Cabinet Office officials are published on:
	www.gov.uk.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of the discretionary housing payment allocation for 2013-14 has been targeted at people who have wheelchair-standard properties.

Esther McVey: In 2013-14 the Government allocated an additional £25 million to the discretionary housing payment budget, which was specifically aimed at helping disabled people who live in significantly adapted accommodation.

Internet

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 20 January 2014, Official Report, columns 44-5W, on housing benefit, if he will provide a full step-by-step guide to accessing the information requested via the Stat Xplore website.

Esther McVey: The instructions are as follows:
	Stat-Xplore can be found here:
	https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk
	The IT requirements and guidance for using Stat-Xplore are given as follows:
	Stat-Xplore requirements and settings
	Browser Requirements
	The minimum browser requirements are:
	Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 or later.
	Mozilla Firefox 4, 12 or later.
	Apple Safari 5 or later.
	Google Chrome (stable channel).
	Browser Settings
	For Stat-Xplore to function correctly, DWP recommends that you:
	Use only one browser/browser tab at the same time.
	Enable JavaScript.
	Ensure 'meta refresh' is enabled in Internet Explorer.
	Avoid browser add-ons.
	To obtain estimates of the statistics requested, follow the steps as shown:
	1. Click on the Stat-Xplore link.
	2. Small tables can be produced but to produce large tables you will need to register with the site. Follow the on screen instructions to register. You will need an email address and must choose a password. The other registration details are optional. You will receive an email to confirm your registration. Follow the instructions in the email and then you will be able to login to Stat-Xplore.
	3. Once in Stat-Xplore in the left-hand side window click the small arrow on the left-hand side of the Housing Benefit folder.
	4. Then double click on the Housing Benefit Claimants folder.
	5. Once the table information appears in the right-hand side window click on the small arrow button on the left-hand side of the Month folder.
	6. To produce a table for the last five years, select each August from 2009 to 2013. (Please note the first month this data is available from is November 2008). Once selected, click the Add to Column button.
	7. Next, at the top of the list select the arrow button at the side of Measures.
	8. Under Weekly Award Amount click the flange button on the left hand side to customise your own range.
	9. In the box that appears, enter a name for the variable e.g. Max Award, and choose the ranges using the calculation as detailed below.
	10. To obtain the range divide the yearly amounts requested by 52.18 to give the weekly amount of housing benefit in payment. For example, to extract the numbers for a range between £60,000 and £70,000, divide £60,000 by 52.18 to give a weekly amount of £1,149.87 and insert this amount into the From box. £70,000 divided by 52.18 gives a weekly amount of £1,341.51 insert this into the To box. Then enter the difference between the two weekly amounts i.e. £191.64 into the Increment box.
	11. Click Next and then Create to generate your variable.
	12. The variable ranges created can be found by clicking the small arrow button on the left-hand side of Ranges and then the small arrow button on the left-hand side of Max Award.
	13. Select the ranges you are interested in by checking the relevant boxes and click the Add to Row button.
	14. Then select the Retrieve Data button in the right-hand side window to populate the table.
	15. Return to step 8 and the repeat the steps to produce other ranges as required.
	This will give you the number in each range as for each year from August 2009 to August 2013. Please note that the weekly amount in payment would need to be paid for the whole year to give the total annual amount requested.
	Please note that these figures are due to be updated quarterly i.e. in February 2014 the September, October and November 2013 data will be made available.
	I will place a copy of this step-by-step guide to accessing information requested via the Stat Xplore website in the Library.

Internet

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what the total cost of developing the Stat Xplore website was;
	(2)  how many officials in his Department were employed in the development of the Stat Xplore website;
	(3)  how many unique users have registered to use the Stat Xplore website since its launch;
	(4)  how many unregistered unique users have used the Stat Xplore website since its launch;
	(5)  whether any (a) usability surveys or (b) satisfaction surveys have been conducted among (i) officials in his Department and (ii) the public on the Stat Xplore website;
	(6)  what external contracts his Department has made for the development and maintenance of the Stat Xplore website; and what the value is of those contracts;
	(7)  when his Department launched the Stat Xplore website;
	(8)  what training is provided to officials in his Department on the use of the Stat Xplore website.

Michael Penning: Stat-Xplore was launched in May 2013 and supports the Government's commitment to open data by enabling users to construct their own, detailed summary statistics on a variety of subject areas such as housing benefit claimants and overseas national registering for a national insurance number. The next addition will be statistics on sanction decisions on jobseeker's allowance and employment and support allowance claimants in February 2014.
	Since its launch in May 2013 and up to 27 January 2014, a total of 1,147 people have registered to use Stat-Xplore. Information on numbers of individual people using Stat-Xplore as non-registered users is not available. However, a total of 4,933 unique IP addresses have accessed Stat-Xplore between May 2013 and end of January 2014. Over 10,000 bespoke tables have been created by users within Stat-Xplore since May 2013.
	There has not been a survey carried out among users of Stat-Xplore to date but users are invited to provide ongoing feedback.
	There has not been a dedicated team responsible for developing Stat-Xplore. Officials have developed Stat-Xplore alongside other duties.
	Before the launch of Stat-Xplore in May 2013, a series of short training events for DWP officials took place.
	Stat-Xplore was developed during the 2012-13 financial year. The total cost of development was £247,570.80.
	The maintenance and development of the Stat-Xplore website forms part of a general contract. The cost of the contract for software licences with Specialist Computer Centres Ltd for Stat-Xplore (2013-14) is £192,464.06.

Jobcentre Plus

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the performance and effect of the Jobcentre Plus Flexible Support Fund; and if he will make a statement.

Esther McVey: Local performance monitoring is in place across all Flexible Support Fund delivery mechanisms to ensure prudent spending. The operation of the fund and its contribution was evaluated as part of the overall Jobcentre Plus Offer.
	The evaluation can be found on:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-jobcentre-plus-offer-final-evaluation-report

Jobcentre Plus

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much of the Jobcentre Plus Flexible Support Fund budget for 2012-13 was spent on (a) transport, (b) childcare, (c) training and (d) other costs.

Esther McVey: The information requested is set out in the following table. Transport and child care costs relating to training have been listed under ‘Training’:
	
		
			 Flexible Support Fund expenditure 2012-13 
			  £ 
			 (a) Transport (excluding training related transport) 6,384,284 
			 (b) Childcare (excluding training related childcare 26,686 
			 (c) Training:  
			 —training related transport 4,131,054 
			 —training related childcare 1,483,924 
			 —training provision and other related costs 63,256,111 
			 (d) Other costs 47,068,679

Jobseeker’s Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the recommendations of the Jobseeker's Allowance Skills Conditionality Pilot evaluation report published in August 2011;
	(2)  which of the 12 policy recommendations in DWP Research report 768, The Jobseeker's Allowance Skills Conditionality Pilot evaluation report, published in August 2011, have been implemented; and if he will make a statement.

Esther McVey: The policy recommendations in ‘The Jobseeker's Allowance Skills Conditionality Pilot Evaluation Report’ (DWP Research Report 768) informed the national roll-out and mainstreaming of skills conditionality in 2011. Jobcentre advisers identify and discuss with claimants their needs and then mandate to what is appropriate. In England the Department for Business Innovation and Skills funds the majority of training to which the claimants are referred. To understand how the policy was being mainstreamed the Department commissioned in 2012 a joint piece of research with the Department for Business Innovation and Skills to assess how skills conditionality and other skills-related policies were being delivered. The resulting report, ‘Employment, Partnership and Skills’ (DWP Research Report 830), was published March 2013.
	Identifying skills gaps or other barriers is key to ensuring that the support offered to benefit claimants is based on individual needs. The introduction of skills conditionality has boosted the number of referrals to the National Careers Service, with over 300,000 interviews taking place between August 2011 and August 2013. In the same period, there were nearly 240,000 starts to training by benefit claimants referred under this same policy.

Occupational Pensions

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average length of time was for the Pensions Regulator to complete an investigation into allegations of pension abandonment in the most recent period for which information is available.

Steve Webb: There is a wide variation in the length of time of these types of cases as each case has its own unique features which determine the length of the investigation.

Pension Credit

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has plans to alter the indexation used to uprate pensions credit.

Steve Webb: There is a statutory requirement to increase the standard minimum guarantee element of pension credit at least in line with the growth in average earnings, and there are no plans to change this.

Pensioners: Poverty

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners were living in poverty in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK in each financial year since 1996-97; and what estimate he has made of the number of such pensioners in the current financial year.

Steve Webb: The annually published Households Below Average Income National Statistics report provides figures on pensioners living below 60% of median income, After Housing Costs.
	Three-year averages are used for geographies below UK level to account for volatility. As such the figures in Table 1 are given from 1996/97-1998/99 to 2009/10-2011/12.
	The latest published figures cover 2011-12. No estimates are available for the current financial year.
	
		
			 Table 1: Population (million) and proportion of pensioners in relative low income (after housing costs) in Scotland, three year averages 1996/97-1998/99 to 2009/10-2011/12 
			  Number (million) Percentage 
			 1996-97 to 1998-99 0.3 29 
			 1997-98 to 1999-2000 0.2 28 
			 1998-99 to 2000-01 0.2 27 
			 1999-00 to 2001-02 0.2 26 
			 2000-01 to 2002-03 0.2 25 
			 2001-02 to 2003-04 0.2 23 
			 2002-03 to 2004-05 0.2 21 
			 2003-04 to 2005-06 0.2 18 
			 2004-05 to 2006-07 0.1 16 
		
	
	
		
			 2005-06 to 2007-08 0.1 16 
			 2006-07 to 2008-09 0.1 14 
			 2007-08 to 2009-10 0.1 13 
			 2008-09 to 2010-11 0.1 12 
			 2009-10 to 2011-12 0.1 12 
			 Source: HBAI 2011/12 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Population (million) and proportion of pensioners in relative low income (after housing costs) in the UK2,1998-99 to 2011-12 
			  Number (million) Percentage 
			 1998-99 2.9 29 
			 1999-2000 2.8 28 
			 2000-01 2.7 26 
			 2001-02 2.7 26 
			 2002-03 2.5 24 
			 2003-04 2.2 21 
			 2004-05 1.9 18 
			 2005-06 1.8 17 
			 2006-07 2.1 19 
			 2007-08 2.0 18 
			 2008-09 1.8 16 
			 2009-10 1.8 15 
			 2010-11 1.7 14 
			 2011-12 1.6 14 
			 Notes: 1. These statistics are based on Households Below Average Income (HBAI) data sourced from the 2011-12 Family Resources Survey (FRS). This uses disposable household income, adjusted using modified OECD equivalisation factors for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living. 2. Figures for the United Kingdom are not available before 1998-99. Estimates for Northern Ireland are imputed for the years 1998-99 through 2001-02, and included in the survey thereafter. 3. Net disposable incomes have been used to answer this question. This includes earnings from employment and self-employment, state support, income from occupational and private pensions, investment income and other sources. Income tax payments, national insurance contributions, council tax / domestic rates and some other payments are deducted from incomes. 4. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100,000 and percentages to the nearest whole percentage point. 5. Measures for pensioners are generally presented on an After Housing Costs basis. This is because pensioners are far more likely to own their homes outright and so receive value from housing, without having to pay for rent or mortgage payments out of their current income. So for assessing pensioner poverty a before housing costs basis does not provide a good comparison of living standards. 6. All estimates are based on survey data and are therefore subject to a degree of uncertainty. Small differences should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response. 7. The reference period for HBAI figures is the financial year. For regional figures three year averages have been used to overcome volatility. 8. In Households Below Average Income, a household is defined as a single person or group of people living at the same address as their only or main residence, who either share one meal together or share the living accommodation. This differs from a benefit unit (family), which is defined as a single adult or a married or cohabiting couple, plus any dependent children. From January 2006 same-sex partners (civil partners and cohabitees) are also included in the same benefit unit. A household will consist of one or more benefit units. The figures above are based on households. Source: HBAI 2011/12

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in the number of claimants of employment and support allowance/incapacity benefit since August 2013; and if he will make a statement.

Esther McVey: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Stretford and Urmston (Kate Green), on 28 January 2014, Official Report, column 467W.

State Retirement Pensions

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress he has made with transitional arrangements to allow people who will receive the new single-tier state pension to receive passported benefits from April 2016.

Steve Webb: There are a number of schemes and benefits available to pensioners, some on the basis of age and low income, and others via the pension credit means test. The table "Principal Passported Benefits" gives details of what benefits are available, the relevant administrative authorities and the qualifying conditions. I will place a copy in the Library. (The Single Tier reforms reduce reliance on pension credit in the system for future cohorts. Most of the benefits in the table can be accessed without first satisfying the pension credit means test. With respect to cold weather payments, the Government has no plans to change the qualifying conditions for current pensioners, and is considering the position with respect to single tier pension cohorts.)

Work Programme

Iain McKenzie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2014, Official Report, column 171W, on work programme, how many people on the work programme found work lasting longer than one year in each of the last three years.

Esther McVey: Statistics on how many people on the Work programme who found work lasting longer than one year in each year for which figures are available are shown in the following table.
	The latest Official Statistics on the Work programme cover the period 1 June 2011 to 30 September 2013. The figures provided in the table are up to and including 30 September 2012. This is the latest date for which an individual could have spent enough time on the programme to have been in employment for over a year.
	
		
			 Number of people referred to the Work programme who found work lasting more than a year by referral date: 1 June 2011 to 30 September 2012 
			 Referral date Total 
			 Total 87,960 
			 June 2011 to December 2011 61,530 
			 January 2012 to September 2012 26,430

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Energy

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of potential options for reducing the inefficiency of coal and gas plants when such plants are used as backup for other sources of energy production.

Michael Fallon: There is an economic incentive for operators to seek to maximise the efficiency of the operation of a power plant. Similarly, power plant manufacturers can be expected to seek to maximise efficiencies, for example through design where it may lead to reductions in cost and/or improvements in performance.
	The Government, through the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC), has awarded a £2 million grant to a consortium of universities and companies, led by Loughborough University, to undertake further research into fossil fuel plant efficiency and flexibility.

Energy Companies Obligation

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the effect of the Energy Company Obligation on the introduction of minimum energy efficiency standards for poorest households living in the coldest homes in England; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: In July 2013 the Government published ‘Fuel Poverty: a framework for future action’1. The framework sets out an intention to set a new statutory fuel poverty target for England relating to levels of energy efficiency among fuel poor households.
	Following the enactment of the Energy Act 2013, the Government will be publishing proposals on the precise form, level and date for a new fuel poverty target in spring 2014, linked to a new fuel poverty strategy for England. We will also publish analysis to support the formulation of the new target, including a consideration of the major role that existing policies, such as the Energy Company Obligation, will play in achieving it.
	1 Available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fuel-poverty-a-framework-for-future-action

Energy Supply

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what definition his Department uses for a Lower Super Output Area.

Michael Fallon: The Office for National Statistics (ONS) definition of a Lower Layer Super Output Area (LSOA) is used. The definition can be found on the ONS website:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/geography/beginner-s-guide/census/super-output-areas--soas-/index.html

Energy: Wales

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of average energy bills in Wales in each year since 2010.

Gregory Barker: Estimates of average energy bills for Public Electricity Supply (PES) regions are shown in tables 2.2.3 and 2.3.3 of DECC's publication Quarterly Energy Prices (QEP). Regional bill estimates are available by PES region only. The two PES regions covering Wales are Merseyside and North Wales, and South Wales. These bills assume fixed annual consumption levels per household of 3,300kWh for electricity and 18,000kWh for gas. The bills provided are averaged across all methods of payment and expressed in cash terms.
	Bill estimates are also produced for England and Wales combined, and can be found in tables 2.2.2 and 2.3.2 of QEP. All tables mentioned are available at the following web link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/annual-domestic-energy-price-statistics

Fracking

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what plans his Department has to monitor methane emissions from shale gas extraction sites.

Michael Fallon: The recent report by Professor David Mackay and Dr Tim Stone—‘Potential Greenhouse Gas Emissions Associated with Shale Gas Extraction and Use’—recommended that shale gas production on the UK should be accompanied by careful monitoring and inspection of greenhouse gas emissions relating to shale gas production and exploration. The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), will be responding shortly to the report and the recommendations. In addition the Environment Agency already includes conditions within mining waste permits to require operators to monitor methane emissions.

Fracking

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many inspections have taken place by the Environment Agency and Health and Safety Executive of drill sites operated by Cuadrilla resources at (a) Preese Hall, (b) Balcombe and (c) Becconsall in each year of activity on each site.

Michael Fallon: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) uses a range of techniques to regulate shale gas work activities throughout the life cycle of a well, including engaging with well operators at the well design stage, assessing well notifications before operations start, reviewing operators' weekly reports to ensure work on the well is progressing safely to plan, and conducting targeted on-site inspections informed by these activities.
	At Preese Hall, HSE has assessed operational issues on four occasions between June 2010 and March 2012:
	‘notification to drill’;
	‘hydraulic fracture’;
	‘drill suspension plugs’; and
	‘calliper casing’.
	There was also a site inspection of the hydraulic fracture operations. At Beconsall, one assessment of a ‘notification to drill and suspend’ took place in July 2011. At Balcombe, there were two assessments: notification to ‘drill and suspend’ in April 2013; and ‘to test’ in August 2013. In addition, all weekly drilling activity reports and material changes to submitted notifications at all three sites have been inspected.
	The Environment Agency (EA) has visited Preese Hall 16 times: 13 visits in 2011 and three visits in 2012. Balcombe was visited four times for compliance reasons in 2013. Six additional visits were made in 2013 for water sampling, noise pollution and water pollution. In addition, Becconsall was visited six times: four visits in 2011 and two visits in 2012.
	Both the EA and HSE are also committed to jointly visiting all shale gas sites, during the current exploratory phase of shale gas development.

Fracking

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made of the effect of methane leakage from shale gas extraction on the UK's greenhouse gas inventory.

Michael Fallon: The inventory provides detailed estimates of the UK's greenhouse gas emissions measured during the applicable year. As the shale gas industry is in the early stages of development, it is not reported in the inventory. Once the industry starts exploration and production, the associated GHG emissions will be reported in the UK GHG Inventory.

Fracking

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change What estimate the Government has made of the costs of regulation of the shale gas industry during the (a) exploration and (b) commercial extraction stages.

Michael Fallon: The Government is encouraging the safe and environmentally sound exploration of shale gas to determine its potential. The UK has a robust regulatory regime for exploration and the relevant regulators consider they have the resources required at this stage of the industry's development. We continuously look to improve the regulatory regime including the assessment of new requirements at a future production stage.

Fracking

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many (a) UK, (b) European and (c) other international energy companies have applied for licences to explore for shale gas in the UK in each of the last three years.

Michael Fallon: Petroleum licences issued by DECC are not specific to shale gas but provide exclusivity in relation to exploration for and production of all types of hydrocarbons.
	DECC periodically invites applications for licences in competitive rounds. The last onshore round was in 2008, and no applications have been invited or received for onshore licences in any of the last three years. Subject to consideration of the results of a public consultation presently in progress on the strategic environmental assessment, we plan to invite new applications later this year in a 14th round of onshore licensing.

Fuel Poverty

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of the number of fuel poor households in the private rented sector qualifying for installations under (a) the Affordable Warmth Obligation, (b) the Carbon Saving Communities Obligation and (c) the Carbon Obligation elements of the supplier-funded Energy Company Obligation since the scheme went live in January 2013 in (i) Great Britain, (ii) England and (iii) each of the other constituent parts of the UK;
	(2)  what estimate his Department has made of the total number of fuel poor households who will receive energy efficiency measures installed (a) under the supplier funded Energy Company Obligation, (b) the Carbon Saving Communities Obligation and (c) the Carbon Obligation elements up to (i) 2015 and (ii) 2017 in each constituent part of Great Britain;
	(3)  what estimate his Department has made of the number of fuel poor households benefiting from energy efficiency measures installed under the (a) Affordable Warmth Obligation, (b) Carbon Saving Communities Obligation and (c) Carbon Obligation elements of the supplier-funded Energy Company Obligation in (i) Great Britain and (ii) each constituent part of the UK since the scheme went live in January 2013.

Gregory Barker: Fuel poverty, as a devolved matter, is defined differently across the constituent parts of Great Britain and the UK, and targeting fuel poor households through supplier-led energy efficiency policies necessarily requires a balance between pin-pointing only those households that are fuel poor with practical delivery challenges.
	As a result, the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) uses the receipt of certain benefits or living in a deprived area as proxies for low income and vulnerable households at risk of fuel poverty.
	Estimates of the number of these types of households that are eligible for support through ECO is published in the final Green Deal and ECO Impact Assessment which is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/42984/5533-final-stage-impact-assessment-for-the-green-deal-a.pdf
	We will be consulting on many aspects of ECO in the near future. The proposals set out in this consultation will affect not only the estimated number of households eligible under the Carbon Saving Communities Obligation (CSCO) but also the amount of households estimated to benefit from any aspect of ECO in both 2015 and 2017. Therefore further details on these issues will be available once this consultation has been published.
	DECC has published statistical information on: (a) the provisional number of ECO measures by ECO obligation by parliamentary constituency, up to 30 September 2013, and (b) the provisional number of households in receipt of ECO measures by tenure and ECO obligation, up to 30 September 2013. Please see tables 1.10b and 1.11b, respectively, of the latest quarterly Statistical Release:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/green-deal-energy-company-obligation-eco-and-insulation-levels-in-great-britain-quarterly-report-to-september-2013

Fuel Poverty

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made of how many households have been removed from fuel poverty as a result of the supplier funded Energy Company Obligation in (a) the UK, (b) England and (c) each of the devolved nations to date; and what projections his Department has made of the number of households that will be removed from fuel poverty as a result of that obligation in each of the next four years.

Gregory Barker: The Department has not made a full assessment of how many households have been removed from fuel poverty as a result of the actions to date under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO). However we do know that at least 260,000 low income and vulnerable households, and households living in deprived areas, have received support through ECO to reduce their energy bills. More information on the current delivery of ECO is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/green-deal-and-energy-company-obligation-eco-statistics
	The design of ECO is due to be consulted on in the near term. As part of this process we will be carefully considering what impact ECO, and any of the proposed changes set out in the consultation, will have on fuel poverty over the policy's lifetime.

Fuel Poverty: Dementia

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent estimate he has made of the number of people with dementia living in fuel poverty.

Gregory Barker: In July last year, DECC announced its intention to adopt the Low Income High Costs (LIHC) indicator to measure fuel poverty, based on the recommendations from Professor Hills' independent review.
	Statistics on the number of people with dementia living in fuel poverty are not collected and so are not available. The number of households in fuel poverty under the LIHC definition where someone has a long-term illness or a disability is 835,000, which is 12.9% of households in this group.

Fuel Poverty: Dementia

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what plans he has to provide assistance to dementia patients who are living in fuel poverty; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: This winter the warm home discount has provided an automatic discount on energy bills of £135 to over 1.1 million of the most vulnerable pensioners. The automatic nature of this payment means those vulnerable people who cannot easily claim assistance, such as those living with dementia, do not lose out.
	The Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) national partnerships team works with over 4,400 customer representative organisations, both nationally and locally, to provide a wide range of advice and support for pensioners. Where customers are unable to conduct their own affairs DWP have systems in place to allow an appointee to interact with DWP on the customers’ behalf.
	Help with energy costs is also provided to older people, including those with dementia, through the winter fuel payment and cold weather payments.

Green Deal Scheme

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many green deal assessments have been completed to date; and how many such assessments were for heat pumps as qualifying technology that had already been installed.

Gregory Barker: There were 129,842 Green Deal assessments lodged in Great Britain up to the end of December 2013, as reported in the following Official Statistics release:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/green-deal-and-energy-company-obligation-eco-monthly-statistics-january-2014
	From 20 May last year, it has been a requirement for those claiming support under the Renewable Heat Premium Payment (RHPP) scheme to first undertake a Green Deal assessment. Under the extension of Phase 2 of the RHPP (which commenced on 1 April 2013), 1,192 heat pumps have been installed, as at the end of December 2013.
	We intend to introduce the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) for the domestic sector from this spring.

Nuclear Power

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many incidents there have been of staff of nuclear power facilities being (a) disciplined and (b) dismissed for inappropriate behaviour in each of the last three years; and what the nature of each such incident was.

Michael Fallon: The Data Protection Act does not allow us to disclose individual cases. The general reason for dismissal would be breach of employment contract or failure to follow Company Policy and Procedures. The following table outlines the number of staff disciplined and dismissed in the last three years.
	
		
			  (a) Disciplined (b) Dismissed 
			 2011 40 5 
			 2012 42 8 
			 2013 34 3

Nuclear Power

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many incidents there have been of staff at nuclear facilities using illegal drugs in each of the last three years.

Michael Fallon: The site licensed companies (SLCs) as part of their safe site stewardship are required to comply to report to ONR the possession, misuse or true positive testing for unlawful substances or prescription drugs. It is for each individual SLC to devise their own policy and demonstrate compliance with the regulatory requirement. Any incidents are reported and dealt with appropriately by the SLC.

Renewable Energy

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made of any duplication between accreditation that applies to installers of renewable technology under the Micro Generation certification scheme and installation of technology under the Green Deal; and if he will estimate the cost to businesses of any such duplication.

Gregory Barker: An installer certified under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) who wishes to install microgeneration measures under the Green Deal does not have to start the accreditation process from scratch. They must also gain certification against MCS standard (MCS 023) which outlines additional requirements for MCS installers to become Green Deal authorised.
	If a MCS installer also wishes to install Green Deal measures outside those covered by the MCS, then they will need to be certified against the relevant parts of the Green Deal installer standard (PAS 2030).

Sellafield

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the elevated levels of radiation detected at Sellafield on 31 January 2014.

Michael Fallon: The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) is responsible for regulating the nuclear sector. I am advised by the ONR that the increased radiation was due to naturally occurring radon arising from construction activities at the Sellafield site. The increase in activity was extremely small and within normal fluctuations in background levels of radiation that would be routinely expected within the parameters of the approved safety case. It was detected on this occasion because of the sensitivity of the detectors. ONR are continuing their investigation as to whether recent maintenance has affected the performance of the detectors as part of their normal routine inspection activities. ONR was satisfied that Sellafield Ltd acted in an appropriate manner throughout the event.

Sellafield

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the economic cost was of running Sellafield with only essential staff on 31 January 2014.

Michael Fallon: The NDA is currently awaiting notification from Sellafield Ltd of any financial implications attributable to the reduced staffing levels on the Sellafield site as a result of an investigation into apparent raised levels of radiation detected by one on-site air monitor on 31 January 2014. All currently operational plants on the Sellafield site remained operational during this investigation. The site entered weekend working patterns as usual on 31 January 2014 and was returned to normal staffing levels on 3 February 2014.